Energeticcity.ca Weekly Review: Trans-Jurisdictional Crime

Welcome to the next installment of Weekly Review, the series where we mention what’s going on behind the scenes and showcase the previous week’s top stories.

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Behind the Scenes

Spencer here, I hope you’ve been having a great weekend! We released the latest edition of Disrupting the Peace last week, focusing on RCMP trans-jurisdictional crime reduction units and how the network of property crime offenders in the Peace operates. We also took you through a typical property crime investigation to give you a better idea of how RCMP investigates these offences.

We heard that the Fort St. John RCMP has to prioritize their resources during property crime investigations, allocating more resources to forceful break-ins where there is more damage done or significant losses. The detachment is trying to get a provincially-funded crime reduction unit for the region, which would work closely with Dawson Creek and Fort St. John RCMP and collaborate with the Western Alberta District crime reduction unit when needed.

Inspector Anthony Hanson said the unit would provide more investigative services to the Peace by utilizing specialized and experienced investigators who have the time and resources to locate, track, and criminally charge the mobile, prolific offenders who operate throughout the Peace region in both B.C. and Alberta.

When it comes to items that are being stolen, Hanson said thieves in the Peace tend to go for older vehicles to use as crime vehicles and objects that can be easily stripped down so they can sell their components. Something I found interesting is that according to RCMP, car thieves in our region tend to go for an “old-fashioned” approach when they steal vehicles, using brute force to gain entry before ripping off the steering wheel column to hotwire the vehicle.

Head over to energeticcity.ca/investigates to give the story a read, and let me know what you think! You can send me your thoughts, feedback, or story tips at spencer@energeticcity.ca

Top Stories of the Week

It’s always interesting to see what the readers of Energeticcity.ca are most interested in the region. Sometimes it’s a big decision that will impact property taxes, and sometimes it’s a new restaurant coming to town. Here are the top stories for the week of August 20 to 26, 2023:

1. A Frantic 9-1-1 Call: leads to a police reminder: don’t hang up on emergency dispatchers. The initiating incident for the call was a young child who was very upset, and the adult with the child seemed unable to handle the situation.
2. Halfway River First Nation Rodeo Club: hosted its 21st annual Halfway River Rodeo Roundup last weekend, celebrating ranching culture with community members.
3. Tumbler Ridge Fire Department: spent nearly five hours extinguishing a fire that sparked at the Quintette Mine site on Sunday afternoon.

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