Hundreds rally in Nanaimo, B.C. to demand more public safety measures after shooting

Hundreds of Nanaimo, B.C., residents rallied at a downtown park on Thursday, pleading for more action from the government on violent offenders.

On Sunday, local business owner Clint Smith was shot in the stomach when he and a group of others decided to go into a homeless encampment to retrieve stolen property.

The items were believed to have been stolen from Ernie’s Black Point Repair, a mechanic shop, which Smith owns.

He had to undergo emergency surgery and is now said to be in stable condition, but demonstrators said this should never have happened and more needs to be done.

“Public safety is very much an emergency in Nanaimo,” Collen Middleton with the Nanaimo Area Public Safety Association said.

“This is not a partisan issue. We can’t have our politicians using a menu of half-measures to address this problem. We need people of all political stripes, across the political spectrum to realize public safety is in the best interest of everybody.”

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In a statement, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said the government is committed to working with all levels of government to strengthen enforcement, ensure there are consequences and address the root causes of crime to end the cycle of re-offending and violence.

RCMP say people should not try to take matters in their own hands.

“I’ve never seen these situations where they don’t end well for the people involved and the quote-unquote suspects,” Const. Gary O’Brien with Nanaimo RCMP said earlier this week.

“You’ve got to call us.”

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The B.C. government announced Tuesday that dedicated police-prosecutor-probation officer teams will be formed and focused on repeat violent offenders.

Called the Repeat Violent Offending Intervention Initiative, the program will pair police with dedicated prosecutors and probation officers to focus on improving public safety by coordinating responses and better outcomes for violent offenders.

The government will be investing $25 million over the next three years to support 21 Crown counsel and 21 other BC Prosecution Service staff to establish and then support the prosecution teams, support four full-time BC Corrections officers to develop, coordinate and evaluate the program, support nine correctional supervisors, nine probation officer based in correctional centres and 12 dedicated probation officers based in community corrections offices.

Nanaimo RCMP confirmed Thursday that no arrests have been made in the shooting earlier this week and the investigation is ongoing.