Campbell River RCMP to focus on domestic violence awareness and prevention

One of the most disturbing crimes that officers deal with in the course of their duties are domestic violence related and they are often the crimes that pose the most ongoing risk to those involved.

In 2020, the Campbell River RCMP will be placing an extra focus on domestic violence awareness and prevention. Part of this initiative will involve a monthly report regarding how many domestic related files police attend in town and it will also tell some of the domestic violence stories without naming victims or the accused.

"It's extremely important for the public to be aware of the ongoing issues with domestic violence in our community," said RCMP Domestic Violence coordinator Cst. Julie Clelland. "Part of ending the stigma of silence when it comes to reporting Domestic Violence is to make the public aware of just how prevalent of an issue it is and understanding that it is an issue that effects all socio-economic levels of the community and is not specific to one gender, age group, or culture."

The monthly Domestic Violence report will be published on the Campbell River RCMP website the first Thursday of every month.

RCMP calls for service report

The Campbell River RCMP responded to 203 calls for service during to week of Jan. 14-21.

Of course the big news of the week on Vancouver Island was the chilly temperatures and the record snowfall. Fortunately, Campbell River drivers showed exceptional skill and patience during the sloppy road conditions on Jan. 15 and 16. RCMP media relations officer Maury Tyre said, and only four collisions were reported to police, with no major injuries.

"For the most part, the people of Campbell River handled the snow on the roads with patience and care," Const. Tyre said. "There were very few collisions reported to the Campbell River RCMP during the recent snowstorms. There were still a couple of issues with people who ventured out on the road without proper tires and not realizing that having four-wheel-drive doesn't improve stopping distance on ice. However, in the great scheme of things locals really seemed to act cautiously with the road conditions."

The myth of four wheel drive

A common belief during winter conditions is that four-wheel-drive will somehow make you indestructible, Tyre said. Three of the four collisions reported to police involved four-wheel-drive vehicles. Two of the three collisions involving four-wheel-drive vehicles were single vehicle incidents, meaning they weren't caused by anyone else. Four-wheel-drive may provide more traction for a vehicle to get going in slippery conditions but this creates an illusion of control for the driver and often they will drive faster than the road conditions allow for.

Then when it's time to stop or take a tight turn the wheels slide in the slippery conditions the same as any other vehicle. Simply put, four-wheel-drive or not, vehicles need to slow down in wintery conditions, leave more space between other vehicles, and leave more room for stopping distances.

Extra road precautions

Nothing beats a good set of winter tires when the mercury dips below zero. Winter tires have a softer rubber compound that allows for better road traction in slippery conditions.

Weight – rear wheel drives and pickups can often benefit from weight in the truck bed or in the trunk to which helps the tires make road contact instead of slipping on to of the slush and snow)

Take it out of overdrive – most automatic vehicles have an overdrive which puts more power to the wheels, turning the overdrive off is can have the same effect as gearing up in a standard transmissions)

If you're on a long trip, have an emergency winter driving kit with you (blankets, water, food, shovel, sand (kitty litter works too).

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