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Busy new year's for West Shore RCMP

West Shore RCMP officers were kept hopping on New Year’s Eve as mild weather and a Saturday night drew out mischievous revelers.

West Shore RCMP officers were kept hopping on New Year’s Eve as mild weather and a Saturday night drew out mischievous revelers.

About 12 regular members and six auxiliary RCMP officers went from call to call on Dec. 31 to the early morning of Jan. 1, dealing with public drunkenness, fights, assaults, drunk drivers and noise complaints.

Over a 12-hour period, from Saturday 6 p.m. to Sunday 6 a.m., police had 43 calls for service mainly in Langford, Colwood and View Royal, a much higher number for the average Saturday night. More calls came in later in the day on Jan. 1 as a few residents woke up to property damage.

“That number of calls in 12 hours is high for us. That’s what happens when you mix New Year’s Eve with a Saturday night,” said RCMP Cpl. Kathy Rochlitz. “It was a busy night by all accounts. We had a good number of members out. We were fortunate we had no major incidents.”

Mounties responded to 10 noise complaints, four impaired drivers, four fights, three assaults and three public intoxication calls. A man on the Songhees First Nation was taken to hospital after an assault involving two other men, in what was the most serious incident of the night. Two men are facing charges.

View Royal Fire Rescue went to five calls on the New Year's Eve night shift, including a car crash, medical aids and the assault at the Songhees reserve.

Langford Fire Rescue and Colwood Fire Rescue, by contrast, had an unusually quiet night. Langford firefighters attended one car crash over New Year’s Eve and Colwood’s crew didn't have to leave the fire hall.