It was a very busy Halloween night for Delta police.
Between Oct. 31 at 6 p.m. and Nov. 1 at 6 a.m., officers attended 104 calls for service.
Public affairs manager A/Insp. James Sandberg said the 104 calls is a little more than double the usual volume of calls in a typical 12-hour overnight period.
He said most of the calls were noise bylaw and fireworks related.
The night started off in North Delta were officers made a major fireworks seizure.
“Thanks to an alert community member, our team was notified of a van cruising residential streets offering fireworks for sale,” said Sandberg. “The seller, instead of making profits tonight, lost his stash and received a $500 bylaw ticket for his troubles.”
Delta police had additional officers on the road, as well as several Community Crime Watch volunteers, also supported by Delta Bylaw Officers, and City of Delta crews.
Below are some highlights of the night of Halloween and non-Halloween-related calls:
• Youths stopped for fireworks possession. Seized from this group were fireworks, brass knuckles, replica firearm, bear spray, knife, flare gun
• Two reports of missing people (one located, one still outstanding)
• 90-day Immediate Roadside Prohibition for failing roadside screening device
• Single-vehicle collision off road Hwy. 91 connector at Hwy. 17
• Single-vehicle collision Nordel offramp from Hwy. 91
• Suspicious vehicle – white van driving around with “Free Candy” sign on back.
Determined to be a poor taste/choice joke
• Fireworks seizure where collapsable baton, replica firearm also seized
• Mental Health check and assessment no apprehension
• Assist home healthcare nurse with difficult patient
• Domestic assault – one arrested and held for court
• Domestic dispute no assault
• Report of assault by BB gun. One arrested but determined to be an exaggerated complaint. Toy gun located
• Voluntary mental health apprehension
• Involuntary mental health apprehension
• Minor assault – mediated and resolved between parties
• Excessive speed impounds(131 in 80 zone) near Tsawwassen Mills
• Mischief – intentional damage to residential front door via fireworks. Video not suitable for identification purposes, ID not confirmed. Estimated $500 damage
• Impaired driving collision. Arrested and charges to be forwarded. Impaired driver struck four parked cars on Nicholson Road
• Online threats to burn down trees in Winskill Park
• Assault – one person arrested for shooting fireworks at bylaw officers. Released with follow-up investigation to be conducted
• Mischief over $5,000 – Vehicle doing donuts on school field between Bursnview Secondary and Chalmers elementary. Vehicle got stuck. Two occupants arrested. Damage to fields to be evaluated in daylight. Vehicle so stuck, heavy wrecker will be required for removal
• 25 calls specific to fireworks and noise complaints
• Three separate files related to youths intoxicated in public. One was not located, one was arrested and taken home to parents, one was taken to hospital for medical care
• One small shrub fire in Ladner from fireworks. Extinguished by an officer prior to Delta Fire Department arrival.
“All in all, our team remained busy throughout the 12 hours,” said Sandberg. “We know of lots of fireworks use, but minimal property damage, and no reflection of the large incident we saw in 2022 in Tsawwassen.
“Overall, albeit a busy night, the Delta Police Department sees the reduction in property damage complaints from previous years as a positive step. We acknowledge the concerns over fireworks usage and their related noise. Until all jurisdictions within our region have similar legislation regulating or restricting fireworks sales and usage, we will continue to face a challenge in eliminating the disturbance from fireworks.”
Delta Fire Department
Fire Chief Guy McKintuck said it was a fairly quiet night for the department with minimal calls for service.
McKintuck said the department did receive one permit for a request to set off fireworks, but the resident did not meet all the requirements, so the permit was denied.
“Zero permits were issued by us for Halloween, but there was still a lot of fireworks being set off throughout the community,” he said. “We had one fire as a result of fireworks being discharged into a hedge, but other than that, we didn't have any other incidents reported to us whether that was a fire or an injury as a result of fireworks. It was a quiet night, but one of the big drivers of that was the weather. It was cold, it was rainy, less people were out setting off fireworks with those weather conditions.”
