The Quesnel RCMP Crime Reduction Unit has had an impact on property and drug offenders in the past four months.
On February 1, 2020, the Quesnel RCMP boosted the number of police officers in the Detachment by two members. The funding for these positions were approved by Quesnel City Council with input from the citizens of Quesnel in a 2019 Budget Consultation.
The additional resources are being used to staff the Crime Reduction Unit (CRU) whose mandate is to target drug, property, and prolific offenders in the community. CRU supplements the policing efforts in high crime areas and focuses on habitual criminals that plague the community.
Prolific offenders are repeat offenders, who commonly have no boundaries, and travel throughout the Cariboo and beyond, to commit crimes. The RCMP is committed to intelligence based policing and proactively shares information with their partners to identify the who, what, where, and when
 of criminal incidents, as well as crime trends.
An important role of CRU will be to increase patrols in high crime hot spots, investigate property and drug offences in the community, and conduct curfew checks on prolific offenders with an aim to take them off the street.
 said Staff Sergeant Darren Dodge, the Quesnel RCMP Detachment Commander.
In the past three months, CRU has arrested 33 people for offences including thefts, drugs, impaired operation of a motor vehicle, breach of release conditions, and outstanding warrants. CRU has recovered three stolen vehicles, has had eleven drug seizures, and has brought twenty people before the Courts on new charges. They were also involved in six search warrant executions.
“The Crime Reduction Unit’s proactive approach to combatting crime will not only bring criminals to Justice, but is will also reduce community harm. With the support of Council and the citizens of Quesnel, this program will ensure Quesnel remains a safe community to live in, stated Richard Weseen, Sergeant in charge of Operations of the Quesnel RCMP Detachment.
“Council heard the public regarding safety concerns, and are happy with the impact that the Crime Reduction Unit has had on improving public safety in the community. said Mayor Bob Simpson.
The Quesnel RCMP urges anyone with information regarding crimes in the community, including suspicious vehicles or incidents, to call the Quesnel RCMP at (250)992-9211, or Crime Stoppers 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).