Fewer people are being charged with cannabis possession in Nelson ahead of the upcoming federal legalization.
Crime data released last week by Statistics Canada shows the Nelson Police Department (NPD) charged just six people with cannabis in 2017. Five people were also charged with cannabis trafficking, and a total of 31 people were charged with drug violations, which is an increase of one from 2016.
That drop in cannabis possession charges is consistent with a 21 per cent decrease nationwide, which NPD Chief Paul Burkart said makes sense ahead of the Oct. 17 legalization.
“We’ve always taken a fairly common sense approach in terms of marijuana,” said Burkart.
“Our stats in the past have been higher than other communities per capita, but the reality is we probably have a lot more marijuana than many of the communities around the province. I just think this is a reflection of what we see as the movement toward legalization.”
Nelson’s crime severity index (CSI), which measures changes in the level of severity by assigning a weight based on the seriousness of a crime, rose 5.53 per cent to a score of 91.98, the highest it has been since 2013. Nelson’s CSI score was ranked 66th out of 229 communities with populations exceeding 10,000.
In total, 256 people were charged with an offense, up from 212 in 2016. Of those, 67 were categorized as violent criminal code violations.
Burkart said crime rates are difficult to judge because of several factors that can include small sample sizes and department priorities.
He pointed to the 17 people charged last year with impaired driving, a five-year high, and said that number likely only rose because traffic policing was a focus for his department. Five municipal officers were honoured in May for their work in removing impaired drivers from BC roads.
“All of a sudden we have this huge increase in impaired driving. Well, is it an increase in impaired driving or is it an increase in the number of people being caught for impaired driving? So that can really throw the stats off.”
Burkart said the numbers are also skewed by population. The 2016 census showed Nelson’s population was 10,572, but Burkart said his members police upwards of 18,000 people.
Those visitors aren’t included in the crime data, but their offenses are, which raises Nelson’s CSI higher than what it would be just based on the resident population.
Burkart said 37 per cent of offenses in 2017 were committed by people not living in Nelson. Visitors also accounted for 55 per cent of drug offenses, and 60 per cent of criminal traffic violations, according to the NPD.
“We have a lot of people coming from outside the community or coming here to work, to use our bars, to use our restaurants, and while they are here some of them also participate in domestic disputes, some are assaults, some are dealing drugs,” said Burkart.
Nelson RCMP numbers were also made available, and showed a 28.14 per cent increase in the rural crime severity index. Local RCMP charged 68 people last year, 30 of which were violent offenses.
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Canada’s CSI went up for a third consecutive year for a two per cent increase, but is also still down 24 per cent from 2007, and BC’s CSI dropped five per cent.
More than of half of census metropolitan areas in Canada reported increases, with Greater Sudbury in Ontario showing a 25 per cent CSI raise. St. John’s, N.L., had biggest decrease at 15 per cent.
Stats Can notes that the January 2017 mass shooting at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec, which included six homicides and 40 attempted murders, sharply raised both Quebec and Canada’s averages.
Trail’s CSI rose 42.02 per cent to a score of 122.85, with 192 people charged and a 140.50 per cent increase in the violent crimes severity index. Castlegar’s CSI meanwhile went up 10.88 per cent. A total of 52 people were charged with crimes in Castlegar, which also saw a 35.65 per cent rise in the city’s violent crimes index.
Other Nelson stats included:
• Sixteen incidents of sexual assault with five people charged. Burkart said the number of incidents reported is high for the city. In 2016 there were nine incidents recorded and no charges..
“I hope to think through [the #MeToo] movement and our detectives working with victims that we’re able to work with victims a little bit better and we have maybe a few more victims stepping forward.”
• Six people charged with assaults against officers, which went up from four in 2016.
“The problem is we are dealing with people with mental health issues and we’re dealing with drug and alcohol concerns, and of course that can often lead to a physical struggle,” said Burkart. “If our officers get assaulted during those physical struggles, unfortunately somebody is going to get charged for it.”
tyler.harper@nelsonstar.com
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