Trail RCMP saw a 17 per cent increase in calls in the first quarter of this year compared to last, driven in part by drug files and requests to check on the wellbeing of others.
Staff Sgt. Dave Johnson presented statistics to city council this week, which showed a total of 1,381 calls in the first three months of this year, compared to 1,174 calls in the same period of last year.
There were 177 requests to check on someone’s wellbeing between January and March 2026, up from 109 in the same three months of 2025. There were also 181 alcohol/drug-related files, up from 130 a year earlier. One of the few areas that saw a decrease was mental health-related calls, which stood at 98, down from 119.
The numbers include all five Greater Trail municipalities as well as the surrounding rural areas.
Johnson said the stats “mirrored” the toxic drugs that hit the area earlier this year, which also resulted in a surge of first-responder calls to the fire department. However, things seem to have calmed down a bit.
“From discussions with my folks and their downtown patrols, the eye test as I drive through town as well, it seems to have abated a bit,” Johnson said. However, he added that this past weekend saw an increase.
He said the local detachment welcomed a new recruit in the last quarter, but it’s also losing a longtime member, who is transferring elsewhere.
He added local officers are being trained on something called HealthIM, whose makers describe as “a digital public safety system designed to support individuals suffering from mental health and substance abuse challenges in acute crisis.”
Johnson said it’s expected to help police collect information that medical professionals require and help officers decide whether to take someone into custody. It can also police with information to avoid triggering someone who’s having a mental health crisis.
The program has been rolled out across the country in 214 RCMP detachments and 44 municipal detachments, including the Nelson Police Department, which has been using it for about a year.
One other much-discussed program won’t be coming to Trail for a while yet, though. Johnson said body-cameras for officers aren’t expected to arrive until December.
Finally, he discounted the notion that the upcoming FIFA World Cup matches in Vancouver could result in displaced people coming to the West Kootenay. He said he heard similar rumours when Vancouver hosted the 2010 Olympic, but they were unfounded.
“I think I understand the concern [for people] living in Richmond or Langley or Chilliwack, perhaps,” he said. “All the way out here, I would say the likelihood is very low.”
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