Crime is not off to the most auspicious start for 2018.
In the first quarter of the year, Sooke RCMP have recorded 1,435 calls for service, compared to 1,337 in the first three months of 2017.
“We’re trending up, and I expect for this to continue,” RCMP Staff Sgt. Jeff McArthur said in a report to district council Monday night.
McArthur said he doesn’t believe the detachment will exceed 6,000 files as in 2016, which was a record, but as the community grows, he expects that number to be surpassed in 2019.
Last year, the detachment set a record for the number of prisoners handled by police officers.
“It shows the degree of seriousness files and investigations taking on,” McArthur said, adding substance abuse remains an issue in the community.