The municipality will attempt to take some of the pressure off RCMP members so they can spend more time in the community, rather than doing paperwork. In his annual report to council Staff Sergeant Jim Eglinski outlined how paperwork and special commitments are cutting into patrol time. The RCMP has participated in 14 search and rescue operations since the beginning of the year. One member has been taken off regular shift to patrol Highway 99. Moreover, during winter storms if a member has to go out on the highway he likely won’t get back for hours. That means another member must be called in on overtime to cover the village. The municipality will look at whether it can provide someone to help with some of the paperwork, thus putting more members back on patrol. o o o Eglinski presented crime statistics which indicate the overall crime rate has not increased substantially from last year, but there have been jumps in certain categories. The number of sexual assault complaints went from nine in 1994 to 15 in 1995. Eglinski noted that while complaints were up the number of charges laid was down. While the number of break and enters to businesses declined from 72 to 50, the number of break and enters to residences climbed from 118 in 1994 to 145 last year. He noted also that thieves are usually very selective in what they steal. Bike theft increased last year and most of the thefts involved $1,000-plus bikes. Eglinski said there were only about 10 bikes worth less than $500 reported stolen. There were 236 ski theft complaints last year, worth at total of $213,000. o o o Whistler will be losing at least three and possibly four members this year. Cst. Don MacGibbon, Cst. Randy Reed and Cst. Ken Callahan are slated to move between June 15 and Aug. 1. The only replacement named to date is Cst. Warren Tomalty, from Kamloops. o o o A new Supervisor of Bylaw Enforcement position has been created to replace the former Bylaw Superintendent position. The RCMP now provide direct supervision to the Bylaws Department, with assistance provided by an acting supervisor. Bylaw officer Sandra Smith is currently filling the acting supervisor role. The position will be advertised and a permanent supervisor hired.
