B.C. crime briefs: Woman charged in assault against VPD officer | Surrey police warn of rise in distraction thefts | Gun and drugs seized in Kamloops​on March 27, 2025 at 5:48 pm

The Vancouver Police Department says there has been a rise in assaults against its officers in 2025, with the latest alleged incident in East Vancouver Monday.

The officer was responding to a 911 call at a residential building near Clark Drive and East 12th Avenue at around 1 a.m. Monday involving a person who was reported to be breaking things and threatening to assault other people, said police.

Officers came to the building and took a 33-year-old woman into custody. The woman allegedly assaulted the officer after the arrest. The officer was taken to hospital and has since been discharged to recover at home.

Kaitlin Balfour has been charged with assaulting a police officer, uttering threats, and breaching the conditions of a release order. She remains in custody pending her next court appearance Friday in Vancouver provincial court.

Balfour also faces unrelated charges including drug possession and assaulting a peace officer stemming from alleged offences in October 2023 in Surrey.

Police said this was the 35th assault against a VPD officer this year, a 25 per cent increase over the same period last year.

Surrey police are warning of several distraction thefts this year in the city. There are various reports of different but similar distraction techniques.

In one instance, the victim is approached and advised they need gasoline and somehow convince the person to provide them with money on the spot or to withdraw cash from their bank accounts.

In another, the suspects approach a person and try to sell them gold jewelry or an iPhone. After the transaction, the victims discover that the gold is fake, or the phone doesn’t function, according to police.

In some interactions, the victim had their own jewelry replaced with costume jewelry.

Surrey police investigators are advising the public to be aware of their surroundings and to familiarize themselves with these crimes.

Kamloops Mounties have seized a handgun, ammunition and half a kilogram of drugs, police said in a news release Thursday.

On Sunday, just before 7 a.m., Kamloops RCMP officers were at a motel in the 2400-block of the Trans Canada Highway East, as part of an investigation into flight from police, dangerous driving, and prohibited driving offences.