How the RCMP reports crime to the public in Okanagan, Kamloops

RCMP usually only report crimes to the public when they’re looking for tips.

That’s how the RCMP describes its communication policies for its detachments in Kamloops and the Okanagan, and it means the public learns of investigations, criminal or otherwise, in their communities days or weeks after they happen, or not at all.

“Generally, only in the event that an investigation results in the laying of criminal charges would the RCMP confirm its investigation, the nature of any charges laid and the identity of the individual(s) involved,” Penticton RCMP media relations officer Const. Olivier Nelis told iNFOnews.ca in a written statement earlier this month.

That was in response to what appeared to be an arson in Penticton in early July. In a video posted to social media, a man could be seen tossing a Molotov cocktail at an RV parked at a busy campground before fleeing in a car.

When reached for comment, the detachment confirmed that it was investigating and that the incident took place in Penticton, but RCMP haven’t released further details.

Const. Nelis said police “generally would not comment” amid an investigation to protect privacy of people involved and the investigation itself.

There are exceptions, like when investigators need information from the public, he said.

On July 29, Kamloops RCMP issued a news release with an accompanying photograph looking for a suspect in a dangerous driving incident after a risky pass on a narrow rural road.

It had happened 11 days earlier, and police are looking for dashcam footage.

July is typically the busiest time of year for RCMP officers in the Okanagan and Kamloops, with tourist season bringing thousands more people to the region.

Kelowna RCMP has issued nine news releases that remain on its website this month. Four are traffic or safety advisories and two are missing persons announcements with one person having since been found.

Another involves a successful search and seizure at a “problem” seniors home in Kelowna. One involves a high-profile collision, where a senior died on an arterial road, and the other is a woman’s “suspicious” death. Neither victim has been publicly identified.

The suspicious death was announced three days after the woman’s body was discovered and a man was arrested at the scene, later released on conditions, but it’s not clear whether it’s being investigated as a homicide.

Asked how police come to decide when to inform the public of crimes in Kelowna, RCMP media relations officer Cpl. Stephen Lang in Kelowna said “investigative relevance and public interest” are considered, along with privacy laws, RCMP policies and “protocols between agencies.”

“RCMP Media Relations policy guides the flow and procedures for sharing information with the public. The circumstances of each incident are considered, and a decision is made, usually by the media relations officer, as to what response (if any) will be provided,” Cpl. Lang said in an emailed response.

The media relations officer in Vernon, Penticton and Kamloops did not respond to requests for comment from iNFOnews.ca in time for publication.

If judged based on public reporting, Kamloops RCMP would seem the busiest of all four detachments in July, and it’s not close.

The public was notified 14 times of criminal investigations and active traffic incidents in Kamloops, though at least two involved arrests from more than a week earlier.

In Kelowna, there were only five media releases involving criminal investigations, traffic incidents or missing people. Penticton had three releases, and one involved an arrest after a one-year investigation, while Vernon had eight that included a missing person, a traffic death and other criminal investigations.

Between the two larger cities, Kamloops does have the higher crime rate and recently ranked second on Canada’s crime severity index. Meanwhile, Vernon RCMP have been busier than Penticton, and the city had the highest crime rate among all four with 14,198 per 100,000, its highest in four years.