In light of the uptick in criminal activity & incident reports in the Cowichan Valley and surrounding areas, North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP and Cowichan Community Policing & Engagement Society (CCP&ES) are doing our parts to combat, deter, and decrease criminal activity levels and locations or ‘hot spots’; as well as spread awareness about steps individuals & businesses can take to help deter & prevent crime at individual and community levels.
As many of us are familiar, illicit behaviours and activities often happen after businesses close for the day, after the majority of people have vacated an area, after dark/nightfall, or when nobody is around to witness/report an incident.

To help protect the community, RCMP and CCP&ES are urging businesses in the Valley to strongly consider implementing the use of (both inward & outward facing) cameras/surveillance systems to mitigate and deter crime in and around business locations.

The idea behind having businesses utilize cameras and/or other surveillance measures is to help identify, catch, and deter criminals, including thieves and vandals who may act after dark or when other people are unlikely to be around and/or watching. Having visible cameras also shows individuals who do and do not live in the area (tourists, travelers, migrants, visitors, etc.) that crime is not welcomed or tolerated here.

In the event of a crime, having a business (ideally multiple) in the area/vicinity of the crime who have footage/video/pictures of the incident allows RCMP to have a better, more holistic insight about what occurred, who was involved, and when.

Installing forward facing (pointed at & capturing footage outside the business) & inward (placed inside the business to monitor the interior) cameras puts more eyes and ears on/in the community to catch criminals when a crime occurs (at minimum on camera) with date and time stamps – valuable information that could go unknown/unreported if the crime occurred without some form of a witness (i.e., cameras/footage if no physical/human witness present).

In the event a crime does occur in or around your business, having cameras could be the difference between identifying/catching the person responsible and not.

North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP and CCP&ES would like to thank in advance any & all businesses who already use cameras or other surveillance measures, those who are waiting for systems to be delivered or installed, those who are considering and/or looking into getting cameras set up, and those who see the importance of surveillance but cannot afford to implement it’s usage at this time.