Newsstand Price 50¢ § January.29, 1984

WEST VAN COUVER police are. crediting : a higher
ae and an increased awareness of crime in the

The only increase was in
the number of thefts, which
climbed from 1,495 in 1982
to 1,697 last year.

**About 50 per cent of
those are thefts from autos,”’
says Cst. Dave Marskell,
head of the two-man Crime
Prevention Unit in West Van-
couver. ‘‘Shoplifting takes
care of about another 40 per
cent.”’

Statistics for other criminal
cases show marked decreases.
Robberies dropped from 25
in 1982 to 22 in 1983 and the
number of break and enter-
ings was down from 519 in
1982 to 480 last year.

While the number of in-
cidents dropped, the value of
stolen. property rose as
thieves picked up $1.34
million worth of goods in
1983, a 26 per cent increase
over 1982.

**The good news is that the
value of stolen property
recovered is up 118 per
cent,”” says Marskell. ‘‘We
went from $175,000 in 1982
to $380,000 last year.’’

Four other major crime
groups showed decreases,
some of those major. The
number of fraud cases drop-
ped from 228 to 183,
sexually-reclated incidents
went from 36 to 10, drug
cases dropped from 90 to 63
and assaults are down to 132
from 170.

Marskell credits part of the
reason for the decline to in-
creascd awareness among
West Van residents of the

“The residents want to en-

sure that West Van is not af- oO
fected the same way that

other areas are,’’. Marskell
said.

by growing interest shown in
the detachment’s crime
prevention programs.

The second reason for the

decline is a concentrated ef-

fort by the West Van Police
patrol section, resulting in a
higher profile for the crime-
fighters.

Good’ news on the crime
front is off-set by increases in
the. number of drinking-
driving charges and suspen-
sions handed out during
1983.

Says Marskell: *‘We’re one
of the few detachments in
B.C. where not only are the
number of impaired charges
up but so are the number of
road-side suspensions.”’

Impaired driving charges
‘jumped from 220 in 1982 to
257 last year, a 16 per cent
increase.

At the same time, the
number of suspensions was
up 75 per cent, from 286 in
1982 to a whopping 501 last
year.

Increased efforts at cutting
into the number of drinking
drivers appear to be paying
off, though. There were
1,520 motor vehicle accidents
in 1983, down from 1,535 the
year before, and only onc
traffic fatality compared with
six in 1982.

The News will carry a full
report on North Vancouver's
1983 crime statistics in
Wednesday’s edition.

_ Newsroom 985-2131 _ :

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Lees
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POS a

Point Atkinson _
SUNDAY

SUNDAY
cloudy, some sun
vie ' MONDAY
me Showers, highs near °7.

UNSEASONABLY WARM < temperatures are making it possible for some tate night strolls
to take in the breathtaking sights available to West Vancouver residents. Above, the water-
front, the aight sky and the lights of nearby highrises combine for a peaceful evening scene.