After several years of significant increases, crime in Nelson is showing signs of stabilizing in 2026, although property crime remains a concern.
Chief Constable Donovan Fisher and Deputy Chief Jason Jewkes presented council with an operational update Tuesday, showing a drop in violent and non-violent crime and a more stable number of calls for service.
Crime trends improve
Police received 4,983 calls for service through Aug. 30, up just 15 calls from the same period last year.
Fisher said call volumes have levelled off after several years of significant increases.
“I think it shows a bit of consistency and control. We can fairly well predict what our call volumes are gonna be and manage that workload,” he said.
The department is also seeing a decline in its overall Crime Severity Index.
Statistics Canada figures show Nelson’s overall CSI fell 26.3 per cent in 2025 compared with the previous year. Violent CSI fell 16.2 per cent, while non-violent CSI dropped 30.2 per cent.
Fisher attributed the decline to improved staffing, grant funding, targeted enforcement and increased supports.
He said increased staffing has also allowed officers to be more proactive, which has contributed to increases in traffic and drug offences.
“Because we’re staffed now properly, the members are able to do more proactive work and that’s why you see a rise in the stats of Traffic, Criminal and Drug Act,” said Fisher.
Property crime still a concern
Property crime, however, has gone in the opposite direction.
Police recorded 492 property offences through Aug. 30, up from 403 during the same period last year – an increase of 22.1 per cent.
The biggest increase has been thefts from vehicles, which doubled from 38 to 76.
Fisher said police have identified one person believed to be responsible for a large majority of the thefts from vehicles.
“Clearly that’s not an acceptable number and we are taking proactive steps to deal with the people we believe are responsible for that, and hopefully have a significant reduction in those numbers in the next quarter,” he said.
Jewkes said the individual will be added to the department’s Chronic Property Offender Intervention Initiative list, which he hopes will have a positive impact on the numbers.
Other crime trends have largely levelled off, while offences against people, including assaults, are down.
“Those are the types of crimes that obviously make people leery, so definitely a positive news story there with the reduction in persons crimes,” said Fisher.
Youth and restorative justice
The department also provided an update on its Youth Prevention and Community Trust, or Y-PACT, program.
The program is funded through the federal Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund, which is administered by the Province of B.C.
Jewkes said the program’s dedicated member has spent the past eight months working with youth, including through restorative justice initiatives and partnerships with schools and community organizations.
He used graffiti as an example, saying a young person could meet with the person whose property was damaged and agree on a way to make things right.
“I think the positive is that everybody has an input in it, from parents, to the kids who are responsible, to the victim. So I think the victim walks away having some form of conclusion to it,” said Jewkes.
Rather than simply taking the youth home and leaving the matter with their parents, Jewkes explained the restorative justice process brings together the person affected, the youth, police and a facilitator to determine how the situation can be resolved.
Councillor Kate Tait asked whether the program could help reduce pressure on the courts. Jewkes said it would be difficult to measure, but restorative justice provides another way to deal with lower-level offences.
“It might actually relieve some pressure on the courts, but also is addressing something that we wouldn’t have had capacity to address,” said Jewkes.
Staffing and officer morale
In terms of staffing, Fisher said the department is in a much better position than it was several years ago, but said police cannot become complacent.
“We’re still status quo as far as what the everyday duties are and the requirements and the capacity of the department,” he said.
“I definitely think that we’re much further ahead than we were, and I think we’re in a good place. We just have to stay on top of it and as things change or adjust we will make those resource requests.”
Councillor Jesse Woodward asked about officer morale and mental health, an issue he said the department has worked to address over the last four to five years as staffing has improved.
“How do you feel about how officers are feeling about morale? I imagine more staffing has probably helped quite a bit and more help from CSOs and bylaw,” Woodward asked.
Fisher said morale is good, pointing to the department’s newer recruits, increased staffing and the positive results officers are seeing from their work.
“We’ve hired a lot more recruits, which we’re working on that experience building piece. But that enthusiasm and the having a new job and a career is contagious,” he said.
“I really feel like there’s a good atmosphere in the office and, 99 days out of 100, it seems like a pretty happy and positive place to be.”
The department has also introduced mandatory annual physical and mental health checks for officers, Fisher said, which he hopes will help reduce the stigma around seeking support.
“We talk pretty openly about it [mental health] in the department, reinforcing that this is cumulative over time and if you don’t start taking steps now when it’s a pretty small problem, you don’t wanna wait till it gets to be a big problem,” said Fisher.
“We’re just trying to keep that message out there and keep that in a positive light that this is a good thing to do.”
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