Oh, the irony.
We have a state-of-the-art prison facility and a state-of-the-art criminal. This bloke, according to Oliver’s finest [RCMP] has a rap sheet boasting 43 break and enters, all within three months, resulting in property crime being up 40 per cent in Oliver. This stat is outrageous!
How long before someone succumbs to the anguish he has caused by the break-ins? Some people won’t recover from such an ordeal.
Imagine sitting in an Oliver restaurant when someone tosses a rock through the glass door; would you feel safe again? Would you return?
Oliver is fast becoming the crime capital of the Okanagan. What in God’s name are we doing with this chap? Our local RCMP can’t cope due to the Oliver detachment doing double duty nursing the prison.
Do you feel safe in this little town? Do you dare go out at night in the dark? When does it end, when he reaches a hundred break-ins? And what about the cost to the businesses?
They are all struggling to stay afloat, then this character comes along and smashes the doors, windows, and steals. It has got to stop before some poor soul gets seriously injured or worse.
Has the town council explored every possible avenue to get this person off the streets? Has the local RCMP pulled every string with our so-called ‘injustice’ system? Why aren’t the judges in Penticton courthouse bringing about a solution?
Oliver is fast becoming a laughing-stock for its public safety record.
Don Smithyman, Oliver
Editor’s Note: A suspect has been arrested in conjunction with these break-ins and is currently remanded in custody. See story on p.6.
