The Elk Valley RCMP saw an increase in calls for service in their 2024 April to June quarter compared to 2023.
In total, there were 1092 calls for service during the quarter up from 847 last year.
While it was a quarterly increase, Staff Sergeant Sven Nielsen said their totals for the year are looking to be around the same.
In the last quarter, 340 calls were from Fernie, 366 from Sparwood, 141 from Elkford and 245 from the RDEK, Tobacco Plains and other surrounding areas.
A large portion of their calls were regarding break and enters, although all 30 in Fernie were found to be false alarms.
He said they are always happy to attend the scene but staff usage could probably be spent better.
“I’m sure you want your police officers doing something that’s a lot more productive than driving from Elkford down to Fernie to respond to a false break-and-enter,” Nielsen said.
“It takes away from other more serious investigations. Would you rather they concentrate on a more serious investigation say a sexual assault or child pornography file or take their time to drive to an event, investigate it, write it up and report it back?”
He added that the detachment can do a better job of educating the public to help reduce the number of security system false alarms.
The detachment also had a strong quarter for catching intoxicated drivers with 30 taken off the roads.
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