Regarding the meeting with the RCMP, held on Monday evening. The flyers that were distributed amongst the citizens of Oliver, telling of us of this upcoming meeting, were apparently sent out by a private individual. Supposedly, the meeting was to allay concerns regarding release of prisoners from the new jail.

The meeting was very well attended and, according to the number of people holding the yellow flyer, people had come to hear about the effect of the prison, on their lives.

The meeting was nothing to do with the prison, as was immediately stated by the RCMP, so why the flyers? Maybe someone just trying to inflame the community. I do not know the person who signed the flyer, but apparently has his own agenda.

The officer in charge put forward his facts and figures very clearly and strongly stated how the officers needed people in the community to be vigilant and report anything untoward. Recording numbers of suspicious cars, etc.

A volunteer from Citizens on Patrol gave information on helping to keep the community safe by evening patrols of private citizens. He explained they were not vigilantes, did not carry weapons and didn’t approach apparent criminals. They just reported incidents to the police. A very worthy group of citizens who needed more volunteers to assist them in their work.

However, as one person after another stood and reported their treatment after reporting crimes, it appeared that the RCMP do not have such a good communication system, between officers. Several of these people had done due diligence in tracing their own stolen property and one person had a video of the crime being enacted, even had film of the licence plate of the vehicle involved. Apparently neither of these people had received satisfaction when they reported their findings to the RCMP.

The general feeling seemed to be of frustration on both sides. Lack of funding means understaffing but lack of communication seems to be compounding the problem. The idea of citizens on patrol is great but, if there is no overnight service at the RCMP, who do the patrollers notify of suspicious behaviour? Are police going to be dispatched from Penticton for a prowler or an addict being unruly? Suspicious behaviour needs looking into immediately, before the crime has taken place or very soon after, otherwise it is too late to apprehend the criminal.

One other problem seems to be in 911 dispatch. Because this is not local, the responder doesn’t know the area and insists on a street address. This is difficult if the incident isn’t in a home or business. How do you report a crime in a park or an area you do not know the address of. Anyone in Oliver knows where the water park or the Catholic church is located, but if you are panicking at witnessing a crime, can you remember an address, especially as most of us still think in terms of our old addresses.

The RCMP are doing their best at a frustrating, understaffed service but maybe it is time to swallow the bitter pill of paying for extra policing. The upcoming census will probably take our town to over the needed figure for this. None of us want higher taxes but we do need the safety that more officers will bring. We definitely need 24 hour policing or we are issuing invitations to commit crime in our town.

Pat Whalley