a. Letter from Village of Keremeos – December 16, 2016
b. Letter from Lower Similkameen Indian Band – December 12, 2016
RECOMMENDATION
THAT the Regional District provide a letter of support to the Lower Similkameen Indian Band/Village of Keremeos request for additional policing in the Keremeos, BC Detachment.
To be debated Thursday at RDOS meeting in Penticton.
Background:
The Keremeos Detachment falls under the Provincial Contract for policing. It serves Keremeos, Olalla,
Cawston and Ashnola. It includes four Members with the senior officer being corporal in rank.
Analysis:
Rural policing in British Columbia falls under the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. The
Provincial Police Service Agreement between the Province and Canada makes the RCMP British Columbia’s provincial police force with a responsibility for “Detachment Policing”. Detachment policing serves municipalities with populations fewer than 5,000 and unincorporated areas.
The Regional District has approached the Solicitor General previously regarding a concern that our
citizens in the South Okanagan are under-served with little acknowledgement. The Lower Similkameen Indian Band and the Village of Keremeos have recently expressed concern about the lack of service, turnover and unavailability of members in the Keremeos Detachment. Safety is a quality of life issue and the Regional District should add it’s support to the Village and LSIB in their efforts to address this ongoing, deteriorating service.
Manfred Bauer, Mayor of Keremeos: Related to the Keremeos detachment’s issue with staff unavailability to take calls, Keremeos sometimes experiences unacceptably long response times. Last month, a Keremeos couple waited 65 minutes for a Constable to wake up and travel from Naramata in response to a young man “aggressively crashing” against their front door at 2:30 a.m. The homeowner was so distraught after waiting 65 minutes for help that she needed care from paramedics.
Keith Crow, Chief Lower Similkameen Indian Band: My community has concerns about the lack of services when calls are made for policing. This is caused in part by the high turnover at the detachment and directly impacts our community.