Constructive criticism is to be welcomed; the type of misinformation some letter writers appear to prefer — as also on the national park reserve — is less than helpful.
A letter (Penticton Western News, March 16, Alternative model of policing needed) on what the letter writer sees as the egregious failings of the RCMP, is not only unhelpful, but I believe ill-informed and nasty.
The accusation that the RCMP will not be investigating property crime is outright nonsense. One example — where I live just outside Penticton, there was a quite serious house break-in recently. As someone who saw something unusual at the time of the robbery, I was only peripherally involved, but I do know that the police were on it immediately when they heard of it and were able to recover some of the stolen goods and make an arrest. Secondly, in our neighbourhood a couple of months ago there was a rash of relatively minor thefts. While these were being investigated (yes!) a local security firm was making regular, nighttime checks. Ignoring property crime? I don’t think so.
In regards to the police not going after every theft from, largely, unlocked vehicles, I applaud them. It’s high time people took responsibility for preventing these, and given the stats reported recently for this type of crime, something like 735 cases with three convictions, it is a poor use of police resources. How difficult is it to hit the lock on your clicker? How difficult is it to avoid leaving valuable items in plain view in your car? Duh. I’d be ashamed to call the police if I were that stupid.
Letter writer quarrels seem to be with the RCMP administration, but if it’s lack of resources they should go after the governments (federal, provincial, and municipal) who pay the bills. If residents wants more policing, don’t blame those in the field. Snide remarks about driving infractions are also breathtakingly misguided. Distracted drivers, I believe, have overtaken drunk drivers in the serious accidents they cause.
As to having a separate district municipal (which?, both?) police force, the letter appears to consider that such an entity would be free. A small reality check; as the administration, buildings, vehicles, etc. etc. would all be separate from the RCMP, the costs would undoubtedly be much higher than now. And who would be accountable for such a force? Aside from these obvious problems with such a proposal, I prefer having policing carried out by a known entity, not perfect of course, but professional, accountable, and for the most part very effective.
Eva Durance
Penticton