When we start to talk about public safety it can be very overwhelming as many of the crime drivers link back to addictions.
Mental health and homelessness also add to the safety stressors in our community. These conditions are often tied to social and economic factors beyond our ability to control or change.
Other communities throughout the valley and province also struggle with these issues and while there is some solace that we are not alone, this doesn’t soften our reality.
We are not going to make a sizeable impact without agencies, government bodies, non-profits and others in the community working together. Last summer we had a policing forum and RCMP Supt., Ted De Jager, laid out his priorities and plans moving forward. Some of the initiatives have been slow to implement, but progress is being made. Violent crime accounts for 4 per cent of total calls to the RCMP and the first quarter of this year saw a decrease in property crimes.
Last month, the superintendent launched the Community Active Support Table (CAST). The model is a community based approach to offer the supports and programs to help people get off the streets, away from their addictions and back into life where they can be contributors to a healthy community. CAST is comprised of decision makers from various agencies, including Interior Health, RCMP, bylaw services, fire, ambulance, addictions recovery agencies, B.C. Housing and other social agencies, and is set to function using a collaborative approach. With over 60 per cent of calls to the RCMP dealing with non-chargeable offences and social disorder, the CAST model can help reduce costs associated with hospital and protective services plus free up more time for RCMP officers to do more foot patrols and targeted enforcement.
Building a safe community is a priority of council, as recently demonstrated by our decision to add more bylaw enforcement officers and stagger their shift times into the evenings and weekends. We also increased the RCMP budget and staffing to enhance our community’s security through Targeted Enforcement and Community Safety. I like the fact that we are trying a new approach that has worked well in other regions. We also have other stakeholders committing to this program, a key step forward because we all have a role to play.
And when it comes to us individually, our contributions towards community safety can vary by way of starting a Block Watch program in our neighbourhoods, locking our vehicles to prevent crimes of opportunity or avoiding suspicious activity by building a community of familiar neighbours.
Lastly, please call the RCMP when you see bad behaviour, or have been victimized. It is easy to feel helpless, look the other way, or think reporting won’t make a difference, but it does.
You don’t see the fire chief driving around looking for the next fire to break out, and police are no different; they rely on help from the public to alert them of crime or disorder. They also need statistics of hot spots to target areas or individuals.
We have an epidemic with respect to addictions, mental health and homelessness. Doing nothing is not an option and infringing on a person’s basic human rights or freedoms just because they look scruffy, act odd, or are homeless is also not a solution.
I appreciate Supt. De Jager hosting this event as I thought the evening was informative, a chance to be candid and, hopefully, garner some optimism to address the very real issues we have in our community.
Andrew Jakubeit is the Mayor of Penticton and provides the Western Newswith a column twice a month. Contact him via email Andrew.Jakubeit@penticton.ca. Follow him on Twitter @AndrewJakubeit