Statistics, reality don’t support perception of a crime-ridden Penticton, says police superintendent

PENTICTON – Targeting of prolific offenders of all types is paying dividends in reducing crime, says Penticton RCMP detachment’s superintendent.

And he insists Penticton is a safe city to live in, with a crime level no worse than any Canadian city of similar size.

Superintendent Ted De Jager says the detachment’s Targeted Enforcement Team has had an affect on the city’s prolific offenders, whether they are stealing vehicles or committing property crimes.

“These are criminals, doing it for profit. They may be addicted, but they aren’t living on the street. They grew up here, they are from the South Okanagan, and they are into a life of crime,” he said during a recent discussion about street crime and its relation to the homeless and addicted population in Penticton.

De Jager says the city has seen a decrease of 30 per cent in break and enters in the first six month of the year, in Penticton and surrounding communities.

"‘It’s a significant drop. It doesn’t mean break and enters aren’t still happening, or that people aren’t getting traumatized from the crimes, but we’re having some success,” he says, adding some of the city’s high number of break and enter, theft from autos category is being committed by the homeless or the homeless addicted.

"The most recent homeless count in the city was around 110. Of that, there is a core group of perhaps 15 or so with addictions or mental health conditions we are dealing with quite often, but not usually in a violent way,” he says.

De Jager says Penticton RCMP officers have been engaging all of the city’s homeless, getting to know them so that when the city’s social housing projects come on line, they can help in the transition process.

“We aren’t talking about a group of identifiable people who walk around the city causing mayhem. There is no evidence a certain time of the evening the flavour of the night changes to a more criminal nature, and there are no street gangs in Penticton, at least no evidence we have,” he says.

According to De Jager, an April spike in crime stats was used in recent reports touting Penticton’s high property crime rate.

“Crime rates bounce up and down like a heartbeat, but for the first six months of the year we’ve been on track with everyone else in crime rates,” he said, adding of 400 thefts from auto so far this year, half were from unlocked vehicles.

“It’s misleading to use those statistics to say crime is excessive,” he says.

De Jager also insists forcing the homeless and addicted to simply “move on” from the public places they are using is not a solution, as they simply move a street or two over and do the same thing again.

“It’s just going to be a different neighbourhood that complains,” he says, adding the recently organized Community Active Support Table intends to bring all partners involved in homeless outreach together in order to get assistance to those on the street in need. He says the group recently held its first meeting.

“I know we are going to hear from those people that say (the addicted and homeless), ‘he did it to himself,’ but that’s not really the story. We’re getting him help getting him off the street and treating his addictions, and that saves us all,” he says.

De Jager also insisted there’s no leniency on criminal behaviour.

“We don’t tolerate criminal activity. Looking scummy, being smelly, homeless or addicted isn’t a crime. We’re working with city bylaw officers and if someone is committing an offence, we’re going to deal with that, if not, we’ll engage them, but they do have rights,” he says. "The old days of pulling down the tents and throwing them on a bus and getting them out of here are gone. The majority of Penticton’s homeless are from here, so putting pressure on them to get out of here doesn’t work because they live here."

“It doesn’t make sense for us not to try something different than just pure enforcement with that heavy hand,” he says.

De Jager says he’s aware of what goes on at street level in Penticton, living within 100 feet of the bus station and Compass House.

“I walk everywhere after work. It’s an incredibly safe city,” he says.

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