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In its report, the RCMP noted the increase in violent crime is consistent with trends across the Lower Mainland, as is a 10-per-cent increase in property crime. A 29-per-cent increase in fraud was attributed to the investigation of a local boat dealership.

Photo by NICK PROCAYLO / PNG

The report also said arrests have been made in three of the five homicides, and while there were 14 shots-fired incidents in the third quarter, as of Thursday, there were 33 gun-related incidents this year, compared to 34 in the same time period last year.

In his statement, McCallum said he was “disheartened” by the report, adding “it does not come as a surprise to me.”

“Our RCMP members are doing the best job they can,” he continued, “but it is clear from what I have heard from our citizens that Surrey would benefit from having its own police department.”

He urged Solicitor-General Mike Farnworth to make the transition “a top priority.”

The mayor has issued statements after several recent high-profile crimes, using them to condemn the violence and make the case for a municipal force. After a shooting at a gas station in Clayton Heights at the end of September, he criticized the provincial government for a “lack of progress.”

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But a Simon Fraser University criminologist says three months of crime data cannot show trends, only “blips.”

“You need to see four or five or six quarters in a row before you can start to talk about trends,” said Garth Davies. “To extrapolate from one quarter’s change is not something that can be done in a serious way.”