Mark McKenney, president of the Anarchist Mountain Community Society, which began operating a crime watch program last year, holds up one of the signs that are being installed across the mountain to show the community is taking its security seriously. Photo by Paul Everest - Click on picture for larger image
OSOYOOS TIMES-December 16, 2009
By Paul Everest – Osoyoos Times
A reduction in thefts from construction sites and a greater sense of security on Anarchist Mountain are signs that a community watch program established one year ago is working, said the president of the Anarchist Mountain Community Society.
Mark McKenney said the Rural Crime Watch Program was formally created nearly one year ago in response to the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of building materials from construction sites on the mountain.
Some residents were also losing cars, mobile homes and hot tubs to thievery.
McKenney said there were between 20 and 24 major thefts on the mountain in 2008.
But since the watch program began, there have only been two thefts.
“So the message has really gotten out,” McKenney said.
Citizen patrols now operate day and night, two to three times a week, covering an area containing more than 100 homes from Hallis Road to Canyon Bridge, he said.
If people see something suspicious, they can call police, the Anarchist Mountain Fire Department chief, or a member of the community society, which has spearheaded the watch program.
McKenney said members of the program and RCMP work closely together and the two organizations have met several times over the past year to share information.
And police patrol the mountain more since the program launched, he added.
Residents have recognized that, although police are doing their part, there is an enormous amount of territory for them to cover, McKenney said.
“It’s made people on the mountain recognize that security is their own responsibility.”
Staff Sgt. Kurt Lozinski, commander of the Osoyoos-Oliver RCMP detachment, said the program has opened up great lines of communication between police and mountain residents.
For example, he said, the watch program has helped police identify several suspects involved in criminal activity and track down stolen vehicles from licence plate numbers provided by members of the program.
Criminals know the community is more organized, he said, a fact which is shown in the reduction of thefts on the mountain.
Lozinski confirmed that police from the local detachment are on the mountain more now and members of the regional police traffic division patrol the area several times a month.
The program was not about creating a “snooper society” on the mountain, but rather exercising a right to protect the community, McKenney said.
Along with citizen patrols, more mountain residents are installing electronic security systems or surveillance equipment, he said, and if someone goes away, they are advised to let a neighbour know.
That way, someone can keep an eye on a property when someone’s not home.
Depending on who is around, eight to 10 people actively take part in the patrols, he said, and patrol members communicate through wireless radios, paid for in part by a grant from the Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen last January.
McKenney said he has received feedback from mountain residents that they feel more in control of their security and they are happy with the support they are receiving from the RCMP.
He added that anyone intending to engage in criminal activities is thinking twice now that there are more eyes keeping watch on the mountain.
Members of the watch program are now putting signs up across the mountain indicating that a neighbourhood watch system is in effect.
McKenney said there has also been discussion about incorporating electronic monitoring and tracking technologies into the program.
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