Police in Port Alberni are struggling to keep up with "violent" crimes in the community, says the city's new officer in charge.
Port Alberni RCMP Insp. Kim Bruce provided her first quarterly report to council on Monday, April 14, going over the crime statistics from the first quarter of 2025 (January to March).
Bruce explained that Criminal Code offences in Port Alberni have gone up by 70 percent compared to the same quarter in 2024. The biggest increases have been assaults, which jumped from 28 reports last year to 43 this year, as well as sex offences (which went up from seven to 10) and drug offences (one to six).
Reports of theft, meanwhile, have gone down 14 percent and domestic violence has gone down 36 percent, although Bruce warned the number is "still high" for the community (46 calls in the first quarter of 2025).
Bruce also took a moment to compare Port Alberni's numbers to the provincial average. The community's crime rate is more than double the provincial average, she said, and second only to Prince George. Over the past 20 years, Port Alberni's police force has remained static at 34 officers, while the policing landscape in the community has become "increasingly dangerous, challenging and complex" in that time, said Bruce.
Most of the detachments calls, she said, are related to assault offences — many of which are tied to drug trafficking and substance abuse issues.
“This is a violent community, and the violence in this community can sometimes be gratuitous and quite serious,” said Bruce. “How to reduce that incidence of violence, I would point to the prevalence of substance abuse.”
On the same day that Bruce presented her quarterly report, city finance manager Andrew McGifford also presented a report comparing Port Alberni's policing costs to the rest of the province. Port Alberni has the third-highest ratio of police officers to population in the province and the highest cost per capita for policing (in municipalities with a population of more than 15,000).
Because of its population, the city is responsible for 90 percent of the policing budget.
Port Alberni Mayor Sharie Minions said that a change is needed when it comes to policing costs across the province. The cost of policing services should not be based on population, she said, but on the severity of the crimes.
“Right now, it is a cost challenge,” she said. “I think we would all like to have more officers, more support. We end up making decisions that are budget focused, rather than focused on what our community needs.”
She also pointed out that rural areas in the Alberni Valley (Beaver Creek, Beaufort, Cherry Creek and Sproat Lake) are only paying a "fraction" of the policing costs, although they receive the same service.
“If I phone the RCMP, they’re going to come,” said Minions. “If there’s an emergency in Beaver Creek, they’re going to come just the same.”
Councillor Debbie Haggard also pointed out that these numbers emphasize the need for an integrated crisis response team in Port Alberni, which sees police officers partnered with mental-health professionals when responding to mental health related calls.
Bruce agreed that this program has been "excellent" when implemented in other communities.
“That’s keeping us out of the hospital and on the street where you need us,” said Bruce.
Councillor Cindy Solda pointed out that the number of thefts might be lower this quarter because people are not reporting these crimes. Some residents, she said, are not reporting incidences of theft because they feel the RCMP can't do anything about these cases.
Bruce, however, encouraged people to report shoplifting and thefts. She said that other calls in the city might take a "higher priority" and response times might be slow.
“We can only respond to the calls that are reported to us,” said Bruce. “If they’re not reported, then that’s lost to us. We’re highly reliant on people giving us those reports in real time. They may not generate the same priority of response, but we certainly see them.”
She warned that the police response in Port Alberni is currently "reactionary," rather than proactive.
“The model that exists right now in Port Alberni is not sustainable in the long term,” said Bruce.
