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if i 1 0 jlismdvoft satlujatw ift weekbmrnovembbr 6j993 p23 helping the hospital gloria anderson of markham stouffville hospital foundation helps hospital mascot dr bear prepare a sausage for customers at the recent barbecue fundraiser to raise money for the founda tion crime rates drop across york region preventative patrolling has proved worthwhile as crime rates dropped in york region this year in the first six months of this year police noted a downswing in some local crime categories an overall decrease of 85 per cent in the total number of criminal occurrences was reported by chief bryan cousineau to the police ser vices board last month other areas that appear to be improving weapons occurrences fell 20 per cent traffic violations have decreased 17 per cent crimes against property saw an 11 per cent drop however offences involving drugs jumped by 20 per cent while the numbers showed so far this year demands for police service dropped in comparison to 1992 numbers york regional police initiated a street beat service where offi cers are assigned to visit schools malls main streets and businesses on a regular basis mm