In January there were 27 vehicles stolen and in February two vehicles stolen, RCMP Insp. Milo MacDonald told city council during its regular meeting March 8.
Things improved in February because four people were put in jail who were responsible for the vast majority of the thefts, he said.
Of the 12 prolific offenders the RCMP identify, six are presently in custody, and a 13th prolific offender moved out of the community after being added to the list.
Through the prolific offender program, RCMP members are assigned to each individual prolific offender and responsible for providing updates on them.
“There are a couple of people on the list for whom we’re obviously willing to conduct enforcement, but we’re also willing to seek opportunities for them, such as connect them with employment to try and socially engineer them toward retiring from crime in a way that benefits everybody,” MacDonald said.
One success story, he shared, is that of a man who went to jail last month. As he was leaving the RCMP told him there are supports available so when he is released he does not feel that he has to get involved in crime again.
There is also a prolific offender steering committee program that is heavily supported by Crown Counsel and other community partners, and administered by probation, MacDonald said.
“We’re doing our best to make it a program that is socially responsible, not just about throwing people in jail.”
When Coun. Scott Nelson asked him to describe the profile of a prolific offender, MacDonald said they are mostly males, probably between the ages of 25 and 35, although some of them are younger.
“They are someone who has been incarcerated for a significant portion of the last 10 years, starting as a juvenile, who is struggling with mental health issues, substance abuse, homelessness and possibly fetal alcohol spectrum disorder,” he said.
Some of the people on the list, he said, are just “violent drug dealers,” and some have been responsible for random violence.
Most of the prolific offenders are residents of Williams Lake, and some of them were local residents when MacDonald was stationed here between 1996 and 2000.
MacDonald did say there are a few offenders who have not been identified by the prolific offender program that have been responsible for some of the city’s more recent crimes.
“We are in the process of trying to identify those people,” MacDonald said, noting the two vehicle thieves arrested on Monday, March 7, were not on the list.
As a result, the RCMP are going to re-examine who those people are, and what their involvement might have been in the high profile events that have been happening in the community.
Mayor Walt Cobb asked how many times an offender has to be caught and charged before they are added to the prolific offender list.
Responding, MacDonald said in Williams Lake the RCMP identify the people they believe are most likely to be committing a serious or violent offence.
“I think in other communities they identify the people who have been responsible for the highest volume of offences, but we didn’t think those were the best people to focus on. We thought we’d focus on the people at risk of potentially committing homicide.”
MacDonald said there are still people in the community who now, because the prolific offender list has been significantly depleted because of the arrests of its occupants, may be added to the list.
The prolific offender list is used to guide the RCMP’s enforcement efforts, MacDonald added.