The Ucluelet RCMP were pleased to ring in the New Year without finding a single impaired driver on the road.
Sgt. Steve Mancini said police set up roadblocks in the community between Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 checking for drivers under the influence throughout the night.
“I can happily say that they did not locate any in all the vehicles that they stopped. People had arranged sober drivers and did the right thing to make sure that everybody got home safe,” he said.
It hasn’t been a perfect start to 2019 however as it’s started off with reports of suspicious activity being posted online by residents who took to social media to suggest that their vehicles had been rummaged through and suspicious people had been seen around residences.
Mancini said his detachment has received no official reports of suspicious activity and he urges residents to report their concerns to police, rather than just posting online.
“It’s very important. If we don’t know about situations that are going on around town, or if we don’t know that there’s people around town that are acting suspiciously or trying to steal items, then we don’t know where to focus our efforts,” he said.
The Ucluelet police can be reached at 911, or the non-emergency line at 250 726-7773.
“Any information that people can provide us that can help us with our patrols around town or focus on what could be hotspots or frequented areas where people are victimized, obviously, we want to know about that,” Mancini said. “It puts us in the areas where people may be committing crimes and the more information we know, the easier it is for us to act on that.”
He added all residents should always ensure they are locking their vehicles and residences.
“I definitely would advise people to lock their doors. I know, in small towns, people like to hope that they don’t [have to] but, unfortunately, that’s not the society we live in now,” he said. “Lock your doors. That way you take away the opportunity for somebody that may be looking for it.”