Glenn Fawcett, president of Black Hills Estate Winery, has started a petition calling for more RCMP resources after his and other wineries have seen numerous break-ins. (Richard McGuire file photo)
Signatures are piling up on a local petition asking B.C. Attorney General Suzanne Anton to provide more funding to increase police resources for the RCMP across the South Okanagan.
As of Nov. 23, 254 people had added their names to the online petition, which was started by Glenn Fawcett, the president of Black Hills Estate Winery in Oliver.
Fawcett and other winery owners have recently been forced to hire private security at their businesses as rates of theft and break-and-enters in the South Okanagan have spiked dramatically.
Other businesses, as well as many local residents, have also been the target of thieves over the past several weeks.
Local politicians met with RCMP earlier this month to discuss the issue and agreed the police are underfunded and understaffed, said Fawcett.
Boundary-Similkameen MLA Linda Larson, Area C Director Terry Schafer and Oliver Mayor Ron Hovanes all pledged to lobby the provincial government for more resources to hire more officers.
Fawcett said he started the petition to give a stronger voice to South Okanagan residents.
He wants Anton to see that the thefts and break-ins aren’t isolated and show her the severity and scope of the crime problem across this region.
Reading comments from the hundred of signatories is a stark and troubling illustration of that fact that this kind of crime has become a serious problem in Oliver and Osoyoos, said Fawcett.
Everyone from Oliver and Osoyoos business owners and residents to tourists from Calgary have added their names and their frustration and sense of helplessness is palpable, he said.
“If you read the comments on that survey, if you scroll through all it, it’s amazing how many other people are affected by [crime],” Fawcett said. “I just keep going through their comments. It’s mind-boggling how many people in the area have been affected.”
Caron Soucey of Oliver was one of those people.
“Enough is enough. These break-ins and thefts truly have to stop! The businesses in the Okanagan can not keep affording to replace items stolen or broken.”
Another signatory, Judith Steffler of Osoyoos, wrote that she has lived in the area for 11 years and thinks it’s “shameful that crime has taken over. It affects everyone. The wineries, businesses and private homes deserve to live in a place where we are all safe.”
“My husband works nights and I don’t feel so safe on my own anymore,” wrote Grace Raber of Oliver.
What Fawcett wants to see happen is for the Ministry of Justice to provide the financial resources to hire two more RCMP officers and purchase one more patrol car for the region.
He said those additional resources should mean a beefed-up RCMP presence in the area with more patrols and faster response times.
Fawcett explained that resourcing is entirely a budget issue and the only way to get the additional officers and squad car will be for Anton to allocate more money.
And while that normally wouldn’t happen until budget decisions at the beginning of next year, he thinks that the severity of the region’s crime problem warrants immediate action.
“We’re hoping based on the magnitude of the problem that [the Ministry of Justice] would reallocate in the short term the resources to address this current crime spree, and then hopefully that would pave the way to more long-term thinking.”
Fawcett plans to leave the petition active until Nov. 27, when it will be presented in Victoria.
To add your signature or view the text and comments visit https://www.change.org/p/susan-anton-attorney-general-of-british-columbia-help-us-protest-the-bc-attorney-general-to-increase-rcmp-presence-in-the-south-okanagan.
TREVOR NICHOLS
Regional Reporter
