Coquitlam's police-to-population ratio continues to be the worst in the province for a city of its size.
This week, Statistics Canada published its annual report for police resources across the country, showing Coquitlam at the bottom for a B.C. municipality with a population over 100,000.
According to the document, Coquitlam's 2011 ratio is 107 Mounties per 100,000 residents - down from 112:100,000 a year ago. Other similar-sized jurisdictions, by comparison, are (2010 rates in brackets):
Abbotsford: 168 (163);
Burnaby: 131 (128);
Delta: 156 (160);
Kelowna: 126 (125);
Langley township: 120 (121);
Richmond: 116 (117);
Saanich: 132 (132);
Surrey: 134 (138);
Vancouver: 208 (223);
Victoria: 232 (235).
Port Coquitlam's ratio is the second lowest in B.C. for populations between 50,000 and 99,999, with North Vancouver district taking the worst spot. The report indicates PoCo's RCMP police strength at 108:100,000 people versus North Van's 99:100,000. In the same category are:
Chilliwack: 129 (128);
Kamloops: 142 (142);
Maple Ridge: 115 (120);
Nanaimo: 171 (153);
New Westminster: 163 (168);
Prince George 182 (183).
The ratio for Port Moody, which has its own municipal police force, remains healthy for the 15,000-to-49,999 population category, with 156 cops per 100,000 residents - up from 153 last year.
As well, its clearance rate for 2010 police files was reported at 36.1% versus 23.1% for Coquitlam and 20% for Port Coquitlam.
Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart said while he's aware of his city's low ranking, he's also sensitive about adding more pressure to the taxpayer to get more Mounties as the rising cost of taxes - for both residential and business property owners - was a hot topic in this fall's civic election campaign.
"We've got, perhaps, a dozen, two dozen cops to hire in order to get the kinds of numbers you're dealing with," Stewart said, "and that's an incredible increase in expenditure that the taxpayers are not ready for. They're not prepared to do that.
"We've had an incredibly successful crime-reduction strategy, largely because of the investments we've been able to make in the last few years and we've very much tackled our crime rates in specific areas and lowered them dramatically," Stewart added. "Other departments around the region are looking at our crime-reduction strategy with envy because of the success we've had. If you take a look at outcomes, we're doing great."
Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore concurred, saying the RCMP detachment his city shares with Coquitlam is efficient, noting the crime rate and case load per officer are lower than the average municipality.
Moore also called the StatsCan report "not accurate" as it only reflects personnel numbers.
"We live in a very safe place," he added.
Calls to Coquitlam RCMP Supt. Claude Wilcott and PMPD Chief Const. Brad Parker were not returned by The Tri-City News' press time.
POLICING BY THE NUMBERS
According to StatsCan, police-to-population ratios in the Tri-Cities are...
n Coquitlam: 107:100,000
n Port Coquitlam: 108:100,000
n Port Moody: 156:100,000
