Oliver has seen an uptick in over-all crime stats, but for the most part the numbers are small. If you go from one stolen bike to two that represents a 100 per cent increase. I urge everyone to keep that in mind.
Adding to that, when the stats get separated from the town of Oliver and rural, the rural stats will be skewed because of the prison. I hope that we can facilitate a further separation of the prison from the rural stats.
That aside, the steady increase in criminal activity throughout the country is a troubling phenomenon that I believe is a result of a failing experiment in social engineering. Governments and academics are slow to admit to failure and this has gone on long enough that even a severe and radical change in approach will take years to show results.
I have to point out that regardless of what these stats look like I believe that we have an absolutely outstanding police force that has been doing its best to stem the tide, even though perpetually understaffed and picking up the load from the prison. It also comes to mind that we keep loading more demands on our officers. Many of these demands are often intense careers of their own. The function of policing is becoming ever more complicated and restrictive.
To add to this, we as a society have hobbled the police by removing or greatly reducing the deterrence of incarceration, the one tool the police have traditionally had to encourage compliance.
I have more than once heard the academics tell us that we cannot arrest our way out of the current crime situation. That the causes of criminal behaviours are a conglomerate of sources; drug addiction, colonialism, mental health, residential schooling, youth trauma or a never ending list of excuses as reasoning why incarceration is inappropriate as a criminal behaviour deterrence.
While all of these factors have a bearing on criminal activity, they cannot become the overriding excuse absolving the offender of meaningful consequences of repeated criminal actions.
The test of time is proving that without deterrence, crime is increasing and severity of criminal actions is intensifying without meaningful consequences. Extremely troubling is the increase in violent crime putting our citizens and police at risk. When there is little consequence to the escalation, violent tendencies are unchecked and the leash is loosened on the vicious.
While some offenders will respond favourably to treatments, there are those that hide amongst and indeed prey upon the unfortunate in society. Escalating consequences of criminal behaviour will help weed out the un-redeemable, or at least provide some small measure of protection to our citizens, businesses and institutions from those resistant to rehabilitation.
It is time we as leaders strongly suggest to the provincial and federal representatives that the blindfold be removed from lady justice so that she can distinguish between the vicious and the unfortunate, and start applying escalating sentencing with repeat offenders.
It is without saying that not all will be redeemable, but the use of escalating sentencing will remove those that are prolific from society for ever increasing periods of time.
I urge all our police officers not to become discouraged at the lack of support. You truly are all that stands between us and the abyss.
Rick Knodel, Area C Director
