The City of Penticton has asked council to fund a community safety review. The review will look at RCMP, fire and bylaw operations to determine how to allocate resources to meet the demand for services.
“We know that Penticton RCMP have the highest caseload per officer in B.C,” said Penticton’s mayor John Vassilaki.
“The review will give us definite numbers on what is required in the community. From there it will come back to city staff, and it will be analyzed and then council will make the final decision.”
The city plans to hire an independent team directed by Dr. Curt T. Griffiths, professor and coordinator of police studies at Simon Fraser University and Dr. Eli Sopow, from Canada University West’s business administration program.
“Both Dr. Griffiths and Dr. Sopow have extensive experience conducting studies of police operations, strategies, and resource utilization across the province,” said Anthony Haddad, General Manager of Community Services for the city, in the release.
The bylaw department will hire a minimum of one or two more bylaw service officers and four community safety officers.
“That will give us our full 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. coverage,” said Penticton bylaw services manager Tina Mercier. “We are also looking to hire a bylaw intake administrator. That person would answer the phones, and the front desk and determine which agency is the best to respond.”
Bylaw is currently running a recruitment camp to hire and train for these positions as quick as possible.
“We just want to ensure that community is being heard and that the community feels that there is someone responding. High visibility in our community is important so being proactive and being visible by foot and in our cars is important,” said Mercier.
The review coincides with council’s decision to make community safety the top priority of the 2022-2026 financial plan.
According to city staff, the review is expected to cost $75,000 and to be completed by mid-2022.
“The process for completing the review will involve a community survey, city department interviews and focus group meetings with community stakeholders to gather the appropriate data for the eventual long-term recommendations,” said Haddad in the release.
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