The Delta police board and Delta police are looking to step up their efforts in raising the profile of cyber crime in the community.
At last Wednesday's police board meeting, February crime statistics released by the police showed a 700 per cent increase in cyber crime calls. There have been 16 reported cases (nine in January and seven in February) so far in 2017 compared to only two reported cases in all of 2016.
Board member Peter Buxton asked if police could pinpoint why there was such a dramatic increase so far this year.
"We have a dedicated person looking at this now," said Chief Neil Dubord. "Often those complaints would come in and we would advise the complainant to go to a specific website or offer some preventative tips, but I think we are doing a better job on collecting the information as well, so I think because of the frequency and the volume we are hearing of this type of crime the better we can track the actual instances.
"So when we look at the numbers it might not be as high, we are just doing a much better job of collecting the data and recording the incidents."
Dubord pointed out that cyber crime itself is not a crime - it's fraud and scams that are making the rounds in the community.
Buxton suggested that if this trend continues, police could post information and a link on the DPD website about scams and how to prevent people from being targeted.
Board member Cameron McLeod suggested using local media to get the word out through a monthly cyber crime bulletin and also through social media channels such as Facebook, while board member Hari Aroon suggested creating fridge magnets with tips and information that could be distributed to residents.
Dubord said all the suggestions were appreciated and recommended a staff report outlining costs and options be prepared for a future board discussion.
