Poll

RCMP: "peeping" not permitted

Kyra Hoggan
By Kyra Hoggan
September 23rd, 2009

Police are reporting a marked dip in activity for last weekend, perhaps due to inclement weather that discouraged criminal shenanigans.

“We only received 41 calls for service between Friday to Sunday, which is quite low compared to previous weekends in the summer, where we’ve seen anywhere from 50 to 70 calls,” said Castlegar RCMP Cpl. Deb Postnikoff, adding most of this weekend’s calls were routine traffic offenses, liquor-related disturbances, by-law infractions and so forth.

“Maybe the rain kept them (potential miscreants) indoors, I don’t know.”

She added, however, that an incident in the wee hours of Thursday morning has RCMP requesting the public’s assistance in reporting any suspicious people prowling about homes or trespassing on private property.

“Police responded to a call at about 1:30 a.m.,” she said, explaining the call was regarding a ‘peeping Tom’ looking inside the window of a home in the 200 block of 8 Avenue.

“Extensive patrols were made in the area, but without success. The suspect is described as a Caucasian male in his early 30s, weighing about 160 pounds and between 5-feet-nine-inches and five-feet-10-inches tall, with a medium build.”

She said time is of the essence when reporting this sort of situation, as the goal is for police to apprehend the suspect in the act, and clarified that such activity is very much against the law.

“Everyone who, without lawful excuse, loiters or prowls at night on the property of another person, near a dwelling house situated on that property, is guilty of an offense contrary to Section 177 of the Criminal Code,” she said.

In fact, she added, while there are sections of the law designated to penalize trespassing at any time of day, trespassing at night is actually distinguished by a separate criminal charge in its own right.

For more information, contact the detachment at 250-365-7721.

Categories: General

Comments

0°C Broken Clouds

Other News Stories

Opinion