Increase in number of drunk drivers a concern for Penticton’s top cop

PENTICTON – A spike in the number of drunk drivers on the road in Penticton has the RCMP detachment commander concerned.

RCMP Supt. Ted De Jager told city council today, July 16, that officers issued 35, 90-day immediate roadside prohibitions over the last three months.

“Impaired driving is the leading cause of criminal death in Canada. It will be here too if people don’t get the message,” De Jager said.

He said the detachment would be putting an emphasis on impaired driving in the coming months.

RCMP are seeing a sharp increase in calls for service so far this summer, with 10,352 so far. It’s tough to compare recent police statistics with past quarters due to a change in reporting stats, De Jager said, but the number of calls go beyond the normal increase they usually see during the summer.

He went on to report to council that at least two prolific offenders involved in vehicle and business theft were now "cooling their heels” at Okanagan Correctional Centre as a result of the detachment’s new specialized crime-fighting units.

He said the detachment’s regional general investigative section is tied up with a significant number of investigations these days, including the quadruple homicide that took place in April.

Other matters under investigation include three separate sudden death incidents, which require further scrutiny in order to rule out foul play, eight child porn investigations and three high-level fraud investigations.

Along with general investigative duties, the detachment’s first response members are typically answering 60 calls or more a day for service. That, combined with the “high amount of legal articulation” it takes to further cases to the Crown leaves police staff with little time to maintain a visible profile in the community, De Jager said.

Coun. Katie Robinson asked the superintendent about police and dispatch’s response to citizen’s calls for service, saying she had been hearing an increasing number of complaints regarding inappropriate or unhelpful responses.

De Jager said he was interested in hearing from people concerned with their treatment, but they needed to talk to him, with the date and time of those instances. He also noted all phone conversations were recorded.

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