Cloverdale and area has seen a drop in residential crime in the past year, with residential break and enters down by 48 per cent.
The “double-digit” decrease took place between January 2015 and January 2016, Acting Sgt. Winston Shorey of the Surrey RCMP’s District 4 Cloverdale/Port Kells Office told Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce members at the February networking luncheon.
Break and enters at businesses haven’t seen a similar drop, however, with the Surrey RCMP still seeing “lots of activity” in the Port Kells area and in downtown Cloverdale, he said.
Thefts of automobiles are down by 23 per cent, added Shorey.
However, thefts from automobiles are only down by two per cent.
Shorey, who took over the role of Community Response Unit Sergeant after Sgt. Dan Gibbons retired in January, said residents do need to take better precautions against thefts from automobiles.
“People are still not securing their vehicles,” he said, adding the problem is most acute in the higher-density residential areas of District 4, where homes are closer together.
“With the growing population, it’s easy for criminals to walk down the street, trying doors” until they find a car that’s unlocked, enabling them to steal items such as cellphones to sell.
The Surrey RCMP will soon be launching the Lock Out Auto Crime campaign to raise awareness, he said.
Shorey also warned that the Canada Revenue Agency telephone scam is active in the district, fraudulently targeting residents and businesses. The real agency’s website (www.cra.com) has a section on fraud, and how members of the public can protect themselves, as does the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca), which outlines types of frauds and how to report an incident.
“If you’re a target of one of these scams, it’s a police matter,” Shorey said.
Follow the Cloverdale Reporter on 
Twitter and 
Facebook. View our print edition online.