Kelowna’s Mayor to head up new crime reduction task force

Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas will chair a task force of nine to 11 members to look into ways to reduce crime in the city.

It will have a one-year mandate to come back with “actionable recommendations related to crime and sense of safety in our community,” says a report going to city council on Monday, May 1.

Fighting crime was a major part of Dyas’ campaign platform last year when he unseated incumbent Colin Basran for the mayor’s chair.

READ MORE: 'No quick fix' says new Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas

The Task Force on Crime Reduction is meant to make recommendations that: reduce crime and increase the sense of safety, engage the public in crime prevention, promote integration between stakeholders and “improve public awareness around the reality and perceptions of crime through the use of data and evidenced based research.”

Joining him on the task force will be one other city councillor, three to five “subject matter experts,” someone with legal expertise/background, a member at large, someone from the social services sector and a member of the indigenous community.

No other names are attached to the report.

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