Crime rates drop; speeding on the rise in Port Coquitlam 

The Coquitlam RCMP recorded double digit decreases in multiple major crime categories in Port Coquitlam during the first quarter of 2024, according to a report to council on Tuesday afternoon. 

Person crimes and property crimes declined by 23 percent and 13 percent, respectively, compared to the three-year average for quarter one, while all mental health-related files dropped by seven percent. 

“I want to say how pleased I am with how things are going so far this year,” said Insp. Darren Carr, acting officer in charge with the Coquitlam RCMP, at Port Coquitlam’s committee of council meeting. 

A lower than normal report of assaults and sex offences contributed to the sizeable drop in person crimes. 

There were 53 assaults recorded in the first quarter of 2024, a reduction of 17 compared to the Q1 three-year average. Four sex offences were reported this year, compared to 13 from the quarterly average.

Aside from shoplifting and fraud, which increased by 18 and 17 counts, all of the other major property crimes — break and entering, theft from vehicle and theft of vehicle — declined compared to the three-year average. 

Thefts from vehicles, specifically, dropped by more than 30 reports. 

Mayor Brad West applauded the RCMP and the city for contributing to the decrease in crime, which he said is changing the perception of Port Coquitlam.   

“It’s one thing to see the statistics, but I hear it from people as well,” West said. “Particularly people who’ve lived here a long time. . . . They say, ‘PoCo seems safer these nowadays.’” 

But the statistics didn’t satisfy every member of council. Coun. Steve Darling, who mentioned that he recently witnessed a robbery at a Coquitlam store, pointed out that the rise in shoplifting was a reason to be concerned. 

“I think we’re at epidemic levels,” he said. 

The rise in shoplifting cases may lead the RCMP to launch a new initiative aimed at preventing thefts, Carr said. He added that one solution may include hiring loss prevention officers, people who conduct private investigations and implement security measures, for businesses that have been heavily impacted by crime. 

“It’s time that I put that on the radar of my crime reduction team,” Carr said. 

Despite the general decrease in crime and mental health reports, traffic violations remain a problem in the city. 

There were more than 550 speeding tickets recorded in Port Coquitlam during the first quarter of this year, a 71 percent increase from the three-year average. 

Most of the violations were recorded in High Accident Zone Enforcement (HAZE) areas of the city including the Mary Hill Bypass and Lougheed Highway. 

The busy freeways have been a priority for the RCMP in recent years. 

The police launched HAZE in January 2023 to curb the rate of accidents and collisions on arterial routes in Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam. 

The RCMP spent more than 80 hours at HAZE-specific areas in the first quarter of 2024 in Port Coquitlam, in addition to hundreds of hours of general traffic enforcement on the road. 

Carr said he believes the increase in violations is a result of more enforcement. 

“We are seeing more traffic enforcement conducted through general duty,” he said. 

Counts of distracted and impaired driving also both saw reductions compared to the three-year average. But seatbelt and intersection infractions more than doubled. 

Elsewhere in the city, the average hospital wait time rose by six minutes to 109 minutes. However, wait times of more than two hours saw a slight dip.

In total, there was just under 3,000 recorded police activities in the first quarter of 2024, accounting for 28.6 percent of activity for the Coquitlam RCMP detachment, which oversees both Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam.

Roughly 71 percent — 7,293 police activities — took place in Coquitlam from January to March of this year.

Carr advised residents to report all crimes, no matter how big or small, as it helps the police understand where they should deploy resources.

“I never want the public to feel like they are bothering us,” he said. “It’s better to call us and not be needed than be needed and not called.”