Pubdate: Tue, 04 Sep 2007 Source: Banff Crag & Canyon, The (CN AB) Copyright: 2007, The Banff Crag & Canyon Contact: http://www.banffcragandcanyon.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1033 Author: Aaron Paton WHISTLER HAS MORE CRIME THAN BANFF Cops in Banff say the streets are wild after 2 a.m., but this party town in the mountains has way less crime than Whistler, BC. Whistler has more violent crime, property crime and drug crime than Banff. That's according to numbers released by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics through Statistics Canada. Crime stats are calculated at a rate per 100,000 population. The 2006 statistics were calculated at 7,684 population for Banff and 9,595 population for Whistler, which doesn't account for tourists. According to the Town of Whistler, the town has a 28, 289 daily population equivalent including residents, visitors and employees. Banff also has a healthy tourist population that can swell by upwards of 20,000 in the summer, according to the Town of Banff. RCMP officials in both towns said that the tourist population should be taken into account when considering crime statistics. Total criminal code violations (excluding traffic) in Whistler were much higher than in Banff, with 24,836 incidences per 100,000 population in Whistler and only 15,656 incidents per 100,000 population in Banff. Violent crime was 17 per cent higher in Whistler with 2,230 incidences per 100,000 population compared to 1,900 incidences per 100,000 population in Banff. Banff RCMP Cpl. Mike Stourac said transients in Banff are responsible for many recorded crimes of violence along Banff Avenue. Sea to Sky regional police service Staff Sgt. Steve LeClair said the same is true in Whistler's Village Square. "I imagine it's the same in Whistler as it is in Banff," LeClair said. "We have a denser population in the village and that's where we get the most (violent) crime." He added that fights typically occur between two people after bars close at 2 a.m. and the vast majority of assaults are considered low-level, LeClair said. In 2006 there were 1,730 low-level assaults per 100,000 population in Whistler and 1,379 assaults per 100,000 population in Banff (actual number of incidents Whistler: 166 Banff: 106). There were 38 per cent more sexual assaults in Banff with 143 per 100,000 population and only 104 per 100,000 population in Whistler (actual number of incidents Whistler: 10 Banff: 11). Whistler and Banff showed similar numbers of assaults with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm, with 240 incidents per 100,000 population in Whistler and 278 instances per 100,000 population in Banff (actual number of combined incidents Whistler: 23 Banff: 21). "We don't really get many assaults causing bodily harm," LeClair said. "We did have one murder this year." There were no murders in Whistler or Banff in 2006. But 2005 was somberly punctuated by the high profile attempted murder and aggravated sexual assault of a Banff hotel worker in Central Park and subsequent conviction of dangerous offender Albert Muckle. LeClair said violence on the streets of Whistler is mostly alcohol-related. "You don't see the drug turf wars going on in the Whistler area as in the city where the drug dealers kill each other over drugs," he said. He added that gangs do show up in Whistler from time to time, especially on long weekends. "But certainly there are no local gangs." LeClair said he saw a lot more violent crime and drug crime at his last job in Port Coquitlam than he does in Whistler. "Violent crime just doesn't seem to be as much of an issue here," he said. Many Banff bars belong to the Banff Bar Watch Society, a network that puts Banff RCMP in direct radio contact with bouncers at popular nightclubs. Whistler has no such system, but LeClair said managers always have the cellular phone number of an officer on duty to help curb late night violence. Methamphetamine is the hard drug of choice in Whistler and "there's still a lot of pot," he said. Banff RCMP told the Crag that cocaine and crack are the hard drugs of choice among Banff drug users. Banff RCMP announced in July that some drug dealers in the Bow Valley mix cocaine and meth to create a highly-addictive combination of drugs that gets coke users hooked on the intense high of methamphetamines. Police tally drug narcotics by four drug categories: heroin, cocaine, cannabis and "other." No charges were laid for heroin in Whistler or Banff in 2006. The number of charges laid for cocaine possession in 2006 was about equal between the two communities. In 2006 there were more than twice as many charges laid for cocaine possession in Banff at 143 per 100,000 population than Whistler at 63 per 100,000 population (actual incidents Whistler: 6 Banff: 11). Sea to Sky regional police service laid 135 per cent more charges for cannabis possession, trafficking and importation than RCMP in Banff. The total number of charges laid for cannabis in 2006 was 1,657 per 100,000 population in Whistler and 703 per 100,000 population in Banff (actual number of incidents Whistler: 159 Banff: 54). The total number charges laid for "other" drugs were similar in Whistler and Banff. Total drug charges for all types of illegal narcotics were 45 per cent higher in Whistler, with 2,032 per 100,000 population and 1,119 per 100,000 population in Banff (actual number of incidents Whistler: 195 Banff: 81). Whistler has more than twice as much property crime as Banff, with 13,995 incidents per 100,000 population in Whistler and 6,845 per 100,000 population in Banff (actual number of crimes against property Whistler: 1,339 Banff: 526). LeClair said significant portions of recorded property crimes are stolen snowboards and skis left out by careless visitors. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman