KAMLOOPS – Bylaw officers in Kamloops are being kept busy with an increase in the number of calls for service surrounding transient issues and panhandling.

According to a quarterly report prepared by the city's bylaw department, there were more than 300 calls for general transient issues between April and June of this year, much higher than 261 calls in the same time period last year, 158 calls in the second quarter of 2016, and 88 calls in the second quarter of 2016.

There was also an increase in complaints about panhandling, with 32 calls in the second quarter of this year, compared to 24 calls in last year's second quarter, and 18 calls in the second quarters of both 2016 and 2015.

The good news is complaints around graffiti on private and public property, nuisance properties and persons with alcohol were all down in the second quarter of this year compared to the same time period last year.

According to the report, bylaw officers are continuing to make their presence known at both the Lansdowne and North Shore bus exchanges, where people have complained about public intoxication, smoking, loitering and panhandling.

The report reiterated that overnight sheltering in public is allowed between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. during the summer months, but all temporary overnight shelters must be taken down outside of those hours or else bylaw may remove any or all items left behind.

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