Charlottetown police arrest 8 people, lay 78 charges

Charlottetown police arrested eight people in the last week, including seven men and one woman, and laid a total of 78 charges.

Deputy Chief BradMacConnellsaid the arrests are a result of Charlottetown police's crime reduction strategy, and the combined efforts oftheir crime analyst, detectives, and front-line officers.

In a report, police said all those arrested wererepeat offenders and have significant criminal records. While the number and timing of arrests were coincidental, MacConnell said they are part of ongoing work done by city police.

Six of the accusedhave been remanded in custody whilethe other two have been released on conditions.

Police say the arrests are not connected.

Police narrowing in on 'prolific offenders'

Since 2017, MacConnell saida crime analyst has been working with city police to focus in on "the small percentage of individuals that are doing thebulk of our crime."

"When we see that, it's important as a police service to not only recognize that but to put the resources and the mechanisms in place to disrupt those people," MacConnell said.

When police receive a complaint about someone, they might not have all the information about that person's history with the law. A criminal analyst connects that information and creates a single case file for officers.

"The time it takes to make an arrest is greatly reduced when you have somebody in this role that's able to make the linkages quickly," said Glen McGrath, a crime analyst with Charlottetown police.

"When members work on individual files they may not see the otherones so I see all the otherones and am able to piece it together relatively quickly and make the arrest."

MacConnellsaid everyone arrested in the last week are what police call "prolific offenders."

Up to 101 criminal code convictions on record

Thosearrested range in age from 22 to 42years old.

The number of charges per individual arrested also range from two to 22 each. Those arrested are charged with a variety of crimes includingtheftunder $5,000, fraudulent use of a credit card,possession of stolen property,breach of probation andfailing to attend court.

Everyone arrested has a criminal record. One person charged has 101 criminal code convictions.

All but one of those charged are from Charlottetown.

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