Four murders in four months. That’s a trend Prince George RCMP Superintendent Shaun Wright would like to snap sooner than later.
The latest homicide occurred just after 8:30 pm on Saturday when officers found a deceased man inside a home on the 22-hundred block of Quince Street.
Police say while none of the four homicides are directly connected, the lone common theme is that they are related to the drug trade.
In an interview with Vista Radio, Wright stated the drug decriminalization laws in the province have not eliminated the black market.
“It’s certainly not decreasing the demand for those substances. As a detachment, we are ramping up enforcement the best we can – our street crew unit has done a significant number of search warrants and seizures of weapons and drugs.”
He added police are seeing a lot of people from the Lower Mainland come up to PG and control drug distribution in the north and into the Yukon.
“Four homicides within a short amount of time is aberration so we are very concerned. I think it is very indicative there is a power struggle of some sort within drug subculture and those that are dealing with the public.”
Prince George tallied six homicides in 2022.
In addition, Wright responded to an incident where a BC Highway Patrol Officer was assaulted during a traffic stop in Prince George.
Luckily, the officer received assistance from three bystanders who will be recognized tomorrow (Thursday) at the North District Detachment building.
PG’s top cop stated certain segments of society have shown an increasing amount of disrespect towards the RCMP, and in some cases, leads to either violent or fatal interactions.
“Some of that is channeled into actions of disrespect or even violence towards police during routine interactions. Here locally, at the detachment, we are undertaking some scenario-based training with our members so we can be better prepared to see some of the key threat indicators and react to them in a professional manner.”
“I think there has been a lot of chatter in traditional media and a lot on social platforms to the ideas of de-legitimizing the authorities of police and I think that has translated to people acting out physically and verbally towards people in situations where they would not have before,” added Wright.
In an attempt to improve police relations with members of the public, some departments in North America have introduced body cams as an accountability tool.
Alberta became the first province to mandate body-worn cameras by police in 2019.
Similarly, the RCMP is transitioning into this as well – something Wright is touting.
“Organizationally, the RCMP has moved forward with body cameras for frontline duty officers – that project is entering the pilot phase and I believe we will see it roll out here in Prince George, early 2024 is a very realistic timeline,” said Wright.
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