Police have called this year a bit of an “anomaly” with no slow down in calls during the shoulder season months.
“This year we didn’t get that break,” Staff Sgt. Kurt Lozinski said.
The call volume nearly doubled in the winter months compared to previous years and RCMP are handling an average of 60 calls a day so far this summer.
“In summer it doubles, but our resourcing doesn’t double, so you’re trying to deal with the same volume of calls with the same number of members,” Lozinski said. “Our members are getting burnt out, people are getting frustrated, our crime rate is up a little bit.”
An anomaly as Kamloops, Kelowna and Vernon are also feeling pressure on police resources and a slight crime rate increase too, though Lozinski said there isn’t an attributable reason. As well, police are currently working on two homicide cases in Penticton, Roxanne Louie who went missing and was found dead in January and Darren Leadbeater ,who was the victim of a shooting at a Penticton motel. Lozinski is optimistic there will be a resolution to both cases.
“It’s not like CSI on TV where everything is solved in an hour, these things could take up to a year or longer to get, but I think they are all solvable,” Lozinski said.