‘Nanaimo’s most prolific criminal’ back on the street again

A man described as “Nanaimo’s most prolific criminal” is back on the street, raising concern for residents and businesses.

Forty-one-year-old Aiden Tye was arrested in January for assaulting a coffee shop owner.

He now has 174 criminal convictions – 81 of them involving violence – including an incident where he threw a brick at a pregnant woman.

In July 2024, he was arrested over a string of aggressive outbursts at local businesses.

2:06 Nanaimo group calls for catch-and-release crackdown

Public safety advocate Kevin Shaw says Tye is an obvious candidate for secure, involuntary care.

“If this person is not in a jail setting, they need to be in some sort of involuntary complex care because they can’t cope with life and we cannot have someone like this causing literally mayhem over and over and over and over again,” he said.

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BC Conservative Leader Lorne Doerksen said in a social media post that if he is elected premier, he will “Amend the Mental Health Act so police can get someone like this into mandatory treatment.”

The BC NDP and BC Greens were not able to respond by the deadline for comment on this specific case.