A resolution requesting the Province to direct the RCMP to amend its reporting statistics to accurately reflect crime statistics based on the regional service area the RCMP responds to passed Thursday at this week’s North Central Local Government’s Association AGM and Convention.
City Councillor Jason Ryll brought forth the resolution on behalf of the City of Williams Lake.
“Our resolution for addressing crime statistics and how they’re reported out passed today, and what that means is that the communities in the north recognize that there’s a deficiency in how crime stats are being reported to outside sources,” he said.
“Whether it be Statistics Canada or whether it’s to media, we know that it’s incorrect and we want to try to fix it.”
The resolution will now go to the Union of BC Municipalities Convention taking place this September in Vancouver.
“Instead of attributing crime stats from a surrounding area to a municipality, whichever municipality it is, we want them to actually look at the service area that RCMP use and serve,” Ryll said.
“So what we’ll do is have the RCMP change their methods for how they report crime statistics that will be reflected to the information that Stats Canada gets which has an impact on how the crime severity index is actually calculated.”
(Editor’s Note: Listen to Williams Lake City Councillor Jason Ryll in the audio below)