Kamloops cops keep eyes on repeat offenders, build dedicated team

RCMP in Kamloops are staying on top of prolific offenders as they head into 2026.

Supt. Jeff Pelley said the detachment has added five officers in the past year and some went to its Crime Reduction Unit, intended to keep track of repeat criminals in the city.

“They focus on those highest risk offenders in the community or repeat offenders, and this is completely separate from other units that they may work on… priority offenders,” Kamloops’ top cop said in an interview with iNFOnews.ca.

It comes as police and prosecutors across the province take part in various programs focusing on repeat offenders in different cities.

When the specialized unit looks to prosecutors to lay charges, they often include a series of investigations rather than just one incident. Pelley said that sometimes means including investigations from other cities.

“We really focus on intelligence-based policing with a multi-jurisdictional approach because some of the offenders commit crimes in our community, other communities and have a substantial history,” he said.

Kamloops RCMP monitor 13 people locally under the repeat violent offender program, and eight of them are currently behind bars. He said he expects one to soon receive a “significant” federal sentence.

There are also 13 prolific offenders, who are different than repeat offenders, RCMP monitor and seven of them are in custody.

Pelley said there’s also been a reduction in break-ins at businesses, in homes and in vehicles over the last year, and there’s been a significant increase in shoplifting reports.

Communities across BC, including cities in the Okanagan, have seen growing frustration with property crime. For Kelowna, there has been a recent outcry from downtown businesses over crime.

In recent years, Kamloops has been ranked as having some of the highest crime rates in the country when compared to Canada’s largest cities. Pelley said the comparison is unfair given the city’s relatively small population, but added it’s the shoplifting reports that place Kamloops so high on the list.

“I have my concerns about that as we’re being compared to larger municipalities, but we’ve had significant improvement in our community,” he said.

Business break-ins have been reduced by 27% over the previous year, followed by vehicle break-ins at 15% and homes with 10%. Shoplifting was up by 13% in 2025.

A full breakdown of Kamloops crime statistics for last year won’t be released to the public for another few months.