Duncan sees spike in crime in some neighbourhoods, decrease in others

Leaders in Duncan and North Cowichan, B.C., have been reviewing the RCMP's latest report on calls for service in the region.

Overall, there was a slight uptick in calls last year, roughly a two per cent increase in 2022 compared to the year before.

However, specific neighbourhoods in the region saw dramatically different increases and decreases in calls, according to RCMP data.

In one neighbourhood, called the TCH Corridor, calls decreased by 12 per cent.

William Arnold, owner of Experience Cycling in Duncan, said he was once frustrated with the state of the TCH Corridor neighbourhood.

"We used to have a lot of verbal confrontations," he said.

But then the business owner reframed his approach, along with others in the neighbourhood. That change has led to positive results today.

"He treated me like a human instead of just an addict that was a nuisance and in the way all the time," said resident Lance De Bree.

De Bree met Arnold when he had no place to live and was hired to help clean up the neighbourhood.

Since then, De Bree says he's turned his life around and he now works at a nearby butcher shop.

Duncan resident Lance De Bree is shown.

NEIGHBOURHOOD STATS

In 2022, calls for service also decreased by 14 per cent in downtown Duncan and by three per cent in the Duncan mall area, according to RCMP.

However, calls for service increased by a whopping 72 per cent in the Cowichan Commons neighbourhood, and by 49 per cent in the Warmland region over the same time period.

David van Deventer, president of the Duncan Cowichan Chamber of Commerce, says many of those calls involve property crime, assaults and check-wellbeing requests.

"There's a couple areas of town that have seen dramatic increases and there's reasons for that," said van Deventer.

"We moved a whole bunch of people into the area and I don't think the supports were all there right away," he said.

RCMP note that new supportive housing options have been added in the two regions.

The Duncan Cowichan Chamber of Commerce thinks more needs to be done during the day to support people in the community.

"There's a projected called A Place To Be," said van Deventer.

"The idea of the project is to give those disadvantaged people, the homeless population, a place to go during the day. Unfortunately, right now, there's nowhere to put it," he said.

Regardless of what's done next, some community members say compassion is a crucial ingredient to the solution.

"They're somebody's son, daughter," said De Bree.

"I just think that everybody deserve a chance," said Arnold. 

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