West Kelowna cracking down on bad drivers

Police in West Kelowna have launched a crackdown on bad drivers.

A total of 527 traffic tickets issued were issued between April and June, up 176 per cent from the same period in 2017.

And almost twice as many traffic warnings were issued in the same timeframe, 602 compared to 325. “West Kelowna detachment continues to conduct traffic law enforcement in the municipality together with Central Okanagan Traffic Services, and the Integrated Road Safety Unit to keep our roads and highways safe,” West Kelowna Sgt. Mona Kauffeld writes in a crime report to be considered Tuesday by city council.

Kauffeld says the “biggest notable decrease” in crime stats were residential break-ins, which declined by 52 per cent.

“This is the second quarter in a row in which this category of crime was our biggest decrease,” she writes in the report.

Total calls for service were 2095, down two per cent from April through June last year.

The total number of property offences was down 19 per cent ( 435 to 351), threats and harassment charges were up 63 per cent (24 to 39), assault charges were down 33 per cent (39 to 26), and stolen vehicles fell 41 per cent (39 to 23).

Drug charges, disturbing the peace, and violence in relationship charges were all on par with last year's numbers.

Charges may be down in some crime categories because West Kelowna police arrested a “significant” number of prolific offenders between April and June, according to Kauffeld’s report.