Business owners in Kelowna, B.C., say they’re cautiously hopeful, but skeptical, after the city announced new measures to address ongoing concerns around crime and public disorder in the downtown core.
After months of calling for action, the City of Kelowna says it’s increasing RCMP and bylaw patrols, launching a mobile mental health response program aimed at freeing up police officers, and planning a business forum in the coming weeks.
For some, however, the announcement doesn’t go far enough.
“I don’t know, I’m not believing that they can help as much as they say they’re going to,” said Colleen Woelders, owner of Kelowna Hair Design. “I hope. I absolutely have high hopes.”
Mayor Tom Dyas says the city’s response is meant to address safety concerns.
“We want to see some interventions that are going to be helpful and help alleviate some of these issues now,” said Dr. Grant Pagdin of Pagdin Health.
But business owners say daily issues like garbage, disorderly behaviour and safety concerns remain unresolved.
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“We need help cleaning the garbage. We need help getting the street people out in the morning,” Woelders said. “That’s important, it’s the filth. Kelowna is becoming a dirty city.”
Despite these concerns, Kelowna RCMP say overall crime, including break-ins, is trending downward. However, some business owners question whether incidents are being underreported.
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“I don’t know where they’re getting that information from,” said Michael Neill, owner of Mosaic Books. “Talking to businesses, it’s very obvious — it’s not less, it’s more.”
According to RCMP, while December break and enters have decreased year-over-year, 12 in 2025 compared to 18 in 2024 and 15 in 2023, calls for service-related to social disorder have continued to rise over the past three years, with approximately 100 more calls compared to previous Decembers.
Neill believes some incidents never make it into official statistics.
“I was talking to one store that had a fire in the alley, they just put it out and didn’t bother reporting it,” he said. “You’ve got shoplifting in stores and nobody says anything.”
Neill says response times are another concern, pointing to a recent incident at his store involving an aggressive man.
“We phoned the RCMP because we didn’t know what to do, and nobody came,” he said.
At Kelowna Hair Design, Woelders says those kinds of issues are an everyday reality. She now plans to meet with several agencies, after she says the city’s response came too late.
“I have a business here,” she said. “I want my little grandmas to be safe when they come here, everyone, not just them.”
City officials say they’ll continue working with police, health partners and business owners as the new measures roll out.
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