Mental health calls have risen according to second quarter police statistics

Photo: Samantha Holomay

The second quarter of the year refers to April 1- June 30.

While mental health calls for service have increased, Trail RCMP made 121 well being checks in the second quarter in 2025, up from 91 during the second quarter in 2024.

The police detachment released their 2025 Q2 statistics, and it appears there were more decreases than increases.

While there was only a slight increase to break and enter instances, the most notable increases came from mental health-related incidents, and well being checks (121, up from 100).

Trail Sgt. Mike Wicentowich said that even though it seems like people have been using the RCMP to go check on people more frequently, the healthcare system has been providing more robust services that involve police assistance.

Wicentowich added that the Trail detachment currently works with a mental health nurse or practitioner to help responding officers interpret the situation.

“It works really well,” he said, adding that prior to the change police were tasked with managing the issues themselves. Typically, there wasn’t much that officers could do unless the person wanted to go to the hospital.

Essentially, the rise could be attributed there being more to resources and more collaborative work with mental health calls in general, said Wicentowich.

“I also think there’s more of an awareness of mental health,” he said. “I think the future of policing might involve a lot of other services and partnerships versus just straight enforcement.”

In addition to the mental health call data, the majority of recorded instances have decreased across the board.

The remaining statistics are as follows:

• 22 assaults (down from 19)
• 3 sexual offences (down from 14)
• 4 thefts of vehicles (down from 11)
• 0 robberies (down from 1)
• 12 break and enters (up from 10)
• 4 theft from motor vehicle (down from 19)
• 2 drug investigations (down from 3)
• 24 motor vehicle collisions (down from 41)
• 1 motor vehicle fatality (up from 0)
• 18 impaired driving incidents (down from 26)
• 127 BC Motor Vehicle Act violations (down from 137)
• 6 domestic violence incidents (down from 8)
• 119 mental health-related incidents (up from 90)
• 121 check wellbeing incidents (up from 100)
• 175 suspicious person/vehicle/occurrence incidents (down from 186)
• 98 unspecified assistance incidents (down from 104)
• Total of 54 persons and violence-related criminal code files (down from 55)
• Total of 144 property-related criminal code files (down from 190)
• Total of 297 criminal code-related files (down from 359)
• Total of 1364 calls for service (down from 1424)

“Overall, our statistics were down but within expectations. Trail RCMP remains committed to keeping our communities safe for everyone,” said Wicentowich.