Pubdate: Fri, 11 Nov 2005
Source: Kelowna Capital News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005, West Partners Publishing Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.kelownacapnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1294
Author: Marshall Jones
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing)

KELOWNA RCMP FACING CRIME 'NIGHTMARE'

Kelowna's Mounties are over-worked, tired and most of all frustrated
that their enforcement efforts downtown are going for naught, says the
city's top cop.

Supt. Bill McKinnon told a forum Tuesday night that he thought they
were making great progress in cleaning up downtown Kelowna. "The
challenge is much bigger than we ever thought it was going to be," he
said.

"We started with four officers on the Downtown Patrol but they are not
enough. It's become a 24 hours a day, seven day a week, 365 day a year
problem.

"It's turned into a nightmare for us."

He's used officers from property crimes, plainclothes officers, drug
section and got 10,000 hours donated from just 50 auxiliary
constables. "We continue to work in the downtown area and I thought we
earned a reprieve after Thanksgiving but it's been anything but," he
said.

"We made significant progress in July when we arrested 48 drug dealers
and yet only three are still in custody.

"We are back spinning our wheels dealing with the same people again
and again."

He said 70 per cent of everything Kelowna RCMP does is a result of
drugs-from actual drug trafficking to drug addicts stealing vehicles
to commit robberies and thefts.

"When I started with the RCMP 30 years ago there used to be a minimum
sentence of seven years in jail for trafficking and we should go back
to that. I am a proponent of mandatory minimum sentences," he said.

He confirmed that he has asked for more officers in Kelowna's 2006
budget but wouldn't say how many. Another problem is just finding
enough officers to work.

The RCMP has a human resourcing problem trying to find roughly 1,000
officers to man the posts already allotted throughout Western Canada.

A man from the audience questioned why the RCMP would continue to put
its officers on the roads checking for seat belts and speeding when
they could be working crimes.

McKinnon was adamant that that is the wrong approach.

"We had 18 traffic fatalities in 2004," McKinnon said.

"If we had 18 homicides, everyone would be in an uproar.

"We are talking about losing the lives of 18 people and over 50 per
cent of them were caused by speed or not wearing a seatbelt."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin