Salmon Arm RCMP Year In Review
Salmon Arm RCMP - Media Release
In 2023, Salmon Arm RCMP received a total 8160 calls for service. A 2.5% increase year over year compared to 2022, where there were 7953 calls for service.
For the period of October 1 to December 31, 2023 Salmon Arm RCMP officers received 1880 calls for service, compared to 1781 calls during the same period in 2022.
Breakdown of common files for the period October 1 to December 31, 2023:
50x Theft under $5000
2x Theft over $5000
11x Theft from motor vehicle
5x Theft of automobile
18x Theft of truck
9x Theft of bicycle
88x Mischief loss of enjoyment of property
66x Mischief under $5000
1x Mischief over $5000
4x Break and enter residence
11x Break and enter business
65x Cause disturbance
172x Suspicious person or vehicle
48x False 911 calls
33x Assault
8x Assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm
131x Check well-being
157x False alarm
18x Motor vehicle collision damage over $10000
65x Motor vehicle collision damage under $10000
56x Mental Health Occurrence
16x Assist Coroner
BREAK AND ENTER
On January 15, Salmon Arm RCMP were advised of an alarm at business in the 1000 block of 10th Ave SW. Police attended within minutes and confirmed a glass door and been smashed and entry made. Video surveillance showed at 12:33am two unknown male suspects enter the business, steal several new Milwaukee tools, and depart all within 20 seconds. The file remains under further investigation. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Salmon Arm RCMP, please reference Salmon Arm RCMP file 2024-259.
On January 17 at 8am, a man reported a break in at a worksite on 10th Ave NE. A temporary door had been pried open and tools valued at $1500 were stolen. IDENT attended the scene. The file remains under further investigation. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Salmon Arm RCMP, please reference Salmon Arm RCMP file 2024-297.
ASSAULT
On January 11, a complainant reported a man had broke a payment screen, and pushed an employee at a local car wash business after getting frustrated with the payment process. Incident caught on video. Police located the suspect and arrested him, who was then released with a future court date to speak to the allegations.
DRIVE WHILE PROHIBITED
On January 12, Salmon Arm RCMP engaged in a traffic stop of a vehicle that was running and stopped against a snow bank, with the driver hunched over the steering wheel. The female driver denied being the driver, despite the vehicle still being in drive. Police confirmed the woman to be prohibited from driving. The driver was issued a violation ticket for no insurance, and the vehicle was impounded for a mandatory minimum 7 days. The vehicle was also issued a notice and order for a full vehicle inspection due to obvious safety concerns. The driver was issued a future court to speak to the allegations.
On January 19 at 12:30 pm, Salmon Arm RCMP stopped a blue Dodge Caravan. The driver was known to police to have active warrants out of Kelowna. The man was arrested and also confirmed to be prohibited from driving. The vehicle was impounded for the mandatory minimum 7 days. The man was transported to cells where he was remanded in custody for the warrants, and also served a future court date to speak to the driving while prohibited charge.
FRAUD
On January 12, a woman reported she received a phone call from who she believed to be Shaw telecommunications. They told the woman that because she was a long-standing customer, she qualified for a discount on her internet if she paid for a full year upfront. She provided her credit card information, including the CVV code. She realized she had been scammed when her internet no longer worked. The woman contacted Shaw who denied contacting the woman. Further investigation showed the $995.90 payment was made to Shawca, not Shaw.ca and that the money was processed through PayPal to AirBnB. The woman had opened a complaint to her credit card company to hopefully get a refund.
On January 23 a man reported he received a text message from what he believed was his cell phone service provider, Rogers Wireless, with a 647 area code. The text message was offering a promotion that required the complainant to prepay for a full year in the amount of $1497. The man paid the fee with his credit card, and later learned his Rogers account had been changed but it was unclear how. The man showed police a PayPal invoice he received. The man was directed to contact his credit card company to try and recoup the payment.
While police recognize it is normal for internet service providers to offer discounts to customers, police encourage extra vigilance when receiving unrequested phone calls from persons with sales pitches. Police highly discourage providing personal information, or payment information over the phone to unknown callers. Additionally, it is not normal to pay upfront for internet or phone services.
On January 15 a man reported that he had sent $50,000 over the past year to someone posing as his girlfriend, that he believed to be living in Baltimore, Maryland. The man was wishing to pursue charges after the person stopped communication. The complainant explained he had actually never seen this person, didn’t know what they looked like, and their only form of communication was over Skype. Police had no way to identify a suspect, and the complainant had willingly sent money making charges unlikely.
