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Langley crime rate ‘middle of the pack’

No significant incidents of violent crime in recent past, Township council told
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The officer in charge of the Langley RCMP detachment

The Langleys are in the “middle of the pack” when compared to other Metro municipal crime rates, the officer in charge of the Langley RCMP detachment, Supt. Murray Power, said Monday.

Power was responding to questions from Township council after presenting a year-to-date update of criminal activity.

Overall, he said, the numbers for Langley Township and Langley City are going down, with some exceptions like mail theft, auto theft and theft from businesses.

A review of Langley violent crime incidents by RCMP analysts found “nothing significant … nothing that is serial in nature.”

Is it safe to walk the streets of Langley City, is it safe to walk the streets of Langley Township?” Power said.

“It is.”

Residents are unlikely to be “accosted by a stranger walking down the streets,” Power said.

Property theft remains a “frustrating” problem, however, he said.

Mail theft in the Langleys is up 90 per cent from the previous year, but Power said the number of incidents has begun to subside as Canada Post replaces community mail boxes with new, sturdier models that are harder to steal from.

“I have to give some kudos to Canada Post,” Power said.

Auto theft is up 34 per cent and theft from autos is up 26 per cent, the result of an “alarming” regional crime wave across the entire Lower Mainland, Power said.

“They’re stealing cars to go from community to community to commit crimes.”

There has also been a recent spike in business break-and-enters, a trend that Power thinks isn’t the work of the usual Langley-based suspects.

“I have a suspicion that we have visitors,” Power said.

Home invasions are down 45 per cent from the previous year and down by 14 per cent over the last five years.

“That’s a direct result of law enforcement by police putting certain people away for significant periods of times,” Power said.



Dan Ferguson

About the Author: Dan Ferguson

Best recognized for my resemblance to St. Nick, I’m the guy you’ll often see out at community events and happenings around town.
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