Penticton’s top cop credits video surveillance for helping solve crime

As members of the Penticton RCMP go about solving crime around the city, their best clues have been coming in the form of video surveillance.

Supt. Brian Hunter had several positive updates for city council during a presentation on Nov. 16.

He credited video surveillance for aiding the police investigation into the two men who used a hammer to rob a 70-year-old woman at an ice cream parlour in August. All police have left to do is cross their t’s and dot their i’s, he said

“We know who’s responsible for that robbery,” Hunter said. “We have solved that file. We are currently in discussions working with Crown counsel for appropriate charges and I’m very happy about that.”

Hunter feels equally as optimistic about recent robberies at the Esso in Okanagan Falls and Skaha Lake Liquor Store, which are believed to have been committed by the same person.

“I can tell you with video surveillance that investigation is progressing, it will get solved 100% guaranteed,” he said.

After a hit-and-run in Summerland that left an employee injured on Aug. 24, Hunter said suspects were caught in Penticton thanks to citizens who captured video the incident on cell phones. That arrest subsequently led to police recovering stolen property and weapons.

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Video surveillance assisted police in arresting suspects one day after there was a theft at a hemp shop – a location where “there’s been a couple of events,” he said.

On Oct. 19, employees closing up for the night at Shoppers Drug Mart were threatened with bear spray, which Hunter called “quite scary.” The case was solved the next day and an arrest was made.

Hunter also credited video surveillance for helping officers make an arrest the day after a robbery at the Barley Mill Brew Pub earlier this year.

Councillor James Miller asked if the hit-and-run death of Ned Catroppa, who was killed in February, has become a cold case.

"One-hundred per cent not a cold case. It’s a very, very active case,” Hunter said. “It’s an investigation where we are employing special investigative techniques in relation to that file. We are very solid in where we’re heading with that investigation, it’s nowhere near cold.”

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Coun. Miller also relayed concerns about whether video evidence serves as reliable evidence in court.

Hunter said video evidence remains valuable to the police even if it is dismissed in court or deemed inconclusive, as it helps point investigations in the right direction. When an officer recognizes a criminal committing an offence on a screen, police can surveil the person, and often end up arresting them while in possession of stolen property.

“We don’t even have to show that video evidence in court, it’s irrelevant, we got the evidence on the person," he said.

Asked about privacy issues regarding video surveillance on private property, Hunter simplified it by saying: “If you’re setting up video surveillance on your property to protect your property there’s no privacy issues there.”

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