As reported for the last few weeks we have a problem with drug users in our city, but I have often wondered if we’re doing the right thing about bringing so much attention to the problem.
Yes, I realize the press have an obligation to report the news, that being said and reported on it only advertises to the drug pushers outside our city that Penticton is open for their illegal business. More addicts known to be in the city promotes more trade for the pushers and more need for the police to try and keep up with their activities. My thought is the city should not be out there talking about it so openly but to be working on a daily basis with the the RCMP and help them to do their job.
Go after the pushers and they will get out of town and you solve the biggest part of the problem. No drug pushers means nowhere for the addicts to buy the drugs. Of course to go after these pushers will undoubtably require more undercover police, a direct cost to the city budget. Therein is the problem, getting the other levels of governments to help deal with the cost of extra policing. My recollection of having argued that cost many times is that one additional officer can cost the municipality around $170,000 a year.
The issue of talking about the drug problem so often and publicly is like talking about the smoke, it scares away the tourists or any potential investors. Yes we do have a drug problem, so does every other city.
I recall when the media covered the riot (their job) and the following weekend we had almost double the people come into town looking to bust up the city. Extra police took that problem away but it cost the city many dollars and even more by taking the province to court to try and recover part of those costs. You really have to be careful as a mayor on how you deal publicly with this kind of a problem, the less said the better.
I will commend the city’s recent initiative to put the contact numbers to call in the store windows if you see suspicious drug activity anywhere. That is a great idea, but only a few stores have the numbers in their windows. May I suggest the city make the signs compulsory for all retail businesses to show them in their windows so that we can all find the numbers when we need them? We can and should all help the police and the bylaw enforcement to get these drug users and pushers off of our streets.
Jake Kimberley
Penticton