Quiet week a break for Penticton RCMP

PENTICTON – A change in the weather last week coincided with a drop in criminal activity in the Peach City.

Crime Stoppers Community Policing Coordinator Rick Dellebuur says Penticton RCMP reported few incidents of note last week, a reprieve after weeks of higher than normal call volumes.

Thieves planning to go to work were active yesterday though. On July 27 a break in was reported at the Fortis yard on Huth Avenue. A hole was cut in a chain link fence and a work trailer was broken into on the property. Thieves made off with test leads and work gloves valued at $200. Similar break-ins at the yard have occurred twice before.

Police are also looking for a well dressed thief, or thieves, following an early morning report this morning, Tuesday, July 28, when a break in was reported at the Body Talk On Main shop. Shirts, glasses and purses were taken after the store’s front door was broken.

Police working the downtown core are taking steps to deal with aggressive and nuisance panhandlers in accordance with the Safe Streets Act, Dellebuur says, noting the detachment is not taking exceptional steps beyond responding to citizen complaints. He says the best way to control panhandling is to not give them money.

Dellebuur says the detachment is getting prepared for the upcoming August long weekend, and gearing up for Penticton Peach Festival, which is getting busier every year.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.