Despite the common perception among some people that things are getting worse, crime rates are actually down in New Westminster, according to the latest regional crime statistics for 2007.

Released this week by the provincial Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General for the police services division, the report shows the rate of criminal code offences in the city declined from the previous year. In fact, it's been on a downward trend since 2004.

As well, the 2007 crime rate is the lowest in the last decade.

For 2007, 117 offences were reported for every 1,000 New Westminster residents, compared to 134 in 2006—a 13 per cent decline. That's a 33 per cent drop from 2004 when 171 criminal offences for each 1,000 residents were recorded.

The only category for which there was an increase was drug-related crimes. They were up 6.4 per cent, which corresponds with rates throughout Greater Vancouver.

Dave Jones, deputy chief with New Westminster Police Service (NWPS), says the local increase is due to an increased effort by law enforcement to crack down on drug activity.

NWPS regularly runs uniformed and undercover operations around the city's SkyTrain stations—hot spots for the drug trade. Each operation results in multiple arrests, Jones said.

Another example of the crackdown is police targeting marijuana grow operations.

"I like to think we've had a concerted effort and pressure on the drug trade," said Jones.

He credits the overall drop in the crime rate to public awareness and police working smarter.

Jones said police work more efficiently by not spreading themselves too thin, instead focusing efforts where they have the most impact. NWPS target individuals, neighbourhoods and establishments that are hotspots for crime. Working with the city and other agencies can also solve problems quicker, said Jones.

Crime prevention efforts have also increased, with more residents having house alarms, compared to five years ago, he added. As well, car immobilizers are standard in most vehicles.

On a larger scale, today's newer residential and commercial developments use CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design) strategies at the design stage, resulting in more security and few hiding spots for committing crimes.

Public awareness of crime shows in the provincial statistics. Property crime rates were at their lowest levels in a decade in 2007 with a rate of 53 for each 1,000 residents, down 10 per cent from the previous year. In 1998 the property crime rate of 108 per 1,000 was double 2007 numbers.

In the case of motor vehicle theft, the rate dropped 20 per cent between 2006 and 2007. That rate in 2003 spiked at 21.1 per 1,000 residents, compared to 7.7 in 2007.

More information on the province's crime rates can be found online at www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/police_services and following the Regional Profiles link.

mmcquillan@newwestnewsleader.com