By ROY WOOD

Frustrated business owners at the Oliver industrial park petitioned town council Monday to help them with the growing problem of theft and vandalism at their properties.

Several suggestions were floated by members of council, including spending tax dollars on private security if the local RCMP detachment is unable to effectively deal with the problem.

Dennis Munckhof presented the 28-signature petition, which outlined the issues and offered several ways the town might help.

The petition said there has been a significant increase this year in property crimes at the industrial park, including trespass, theft and vandalism.

“Efforts made by business owners, including investments in lock ups, security systems, fencing and even guard animals, have proven to have limited effect as these thieves and vandals become more brazen,” it said.

As well, the petition said it is well known that RCMP has “extremely limited” resources at night and that “apathy toward police effectiveness” has resulted in victims not bothering to report the crimes.

The petition asked council to: seek an increase in RCMP night time patrols; assess street lighting in the industrial area; involve private security in patrolling the area; and “address issues along the international bike trail (which provides) unmonitored access to the back end of businesses and an easy escape route.”

Mayor Ron Hovanes assured Munckhof that the town is aware of the problem and is working on it. He said he told MLA Linda Larson “Oliver has been hammered this year” by property crime and she has promised to take the issue to the provincial attorney general.

In the meanwhile, Hovanes said, business owners and others need to be aware of the dangers and take steps to secure their belongings. “We need to do a better job of securing our stuff … we can’t just leave it laying around.”

The mayor suggested to acting chief administrative officer David Svetlichny that some members of the town staff might visit the area at night and do an assessment of the street lighting and suggest changes.

Water Councillor Rick Machial urged the mayor to speak with the RCMP detachment and encourage them to re-schedule so that there are more members available at night.

Councillor Jack Bennest pointed out that while the RCMP may listen to the town’s concerns, they don’t take direction from the town.

He suggested it might be time to enlist private security to help with patrolling the industrial area. “Maybe we should apportion some money that we can make available to the areas that are being hit,” he said.