Town council will hear about concerns from property owners in Oliver’s Industrial Park next Monday.

About 30 property owners have signed a petition that council will see and discuss.

The petition calls on the council to take their concerns to the RCMP about its policy of no – night time policing on a regular basis.

The petitioners outline:

increased lighting in the area is needed, state the hike and bike trail is used by the criminal element to access the backside of many properties and acts like an escape route.

better private enforcement through the use of Bylaw officers at night

The business owners will address council as well and seek some help because of  “a noticeable increase in incidents of trespass, theft and vandalism to goods and property”.

The owners say that extra security systems, guard dogs, fencing, have had limited effect on thieves.

Mayor Ron Hovanes is quoted in local media as saying:

“Some responsibility lies with citizens to protect their property. I think we need to do a better job in the community as a whole to get property owners to start looking after their own stuff even better,”   “We need to do a better job of securing our belongings to make sure we are looking after them, and we need to do a better job of looking out for each other.”

On November 10th – MLA Linda Larson, Mayor Hovanes, RDOS Director Terry Schafer met with local RCMP detachment head Blaine Gervais to discuss the problem of a rising crime rate.