The number of missing person reports to the Vancouver Police Department this year is at an all-time high and could reach close to 5,500 files by the end of 2022.
Sgt. Stan Dy and Det. Rebecca Matson of the department’s missing persons unit presented statistics at a recent Vancouver Police Board meeting that showed an estimated 5,479 files will be generated by year’s end.
The number of files has already eclipsed the record-breaking 5,285 reported in 2019.
Last year, police received 4,847 missing person reports and 4,575 in 2020. In 2011, police investigated 3,448.
“In 2022, I had to estimate the last couple of months because we’re not quite finished [the year], but you can see the number here is drastically higher this year, for whatever reason,” Dy told the police board Nov. 24.
The officers didn’t elaborate on reasons for the increase in files, but Dy noted 44 per cent of reports came from the policing district that includes the Downtown Eastside. Dy said 42 per cent of all reports were generated from single-room-occupancy hotels, or SROs.
“And if you include the group homes, it’s actually 58 per cent,” he said.
