There are many reasons why people choose to live in small towns like Osoyoos and feeling safe and secure would always rank near the top of those reasons for most residents.
While Osoyoos remains an exceptionally safe place to live and a town where you can walk the streets at night without worry, a harsh reality was unveiled before town council on Monday.
Sgt. Randy Bosch, the new detachment commander in Osoyoos, made it very clear to Mayor Sue McKortoff, all four town councillors and senior administration that things aren’t all rosy in our community.
Bosch said a growing and consistent problem with property and petty crime has him and his officers worried – and very busy.
After only four months on the job, Bosch, who came to Osoyoos after serving many years with the RCMP in Prince George, including a long stint as a homicide investigator, told council Osoyoos has a serious and growing problem with property and petty crime.
The problem has become serious enough that Bosch asked council to support his idea to hold a town hall community forum to address the problem before things get even worse.
Bosch originally wanted the town hall meeting to be held early in the new year, but agreed holding it in March is a better idea considering hundreds of local residents leave the community during the winter months.
There has been a significant increase in vehicle thefts, break and enters into residences and businesses, internet fraud and mass marketing schemes over the past several months, Bosch told council.
The purpose behind the town hall meeting will be to talk about the growing crime problem, but also to provide local residents with information about what they can do in their own small way to ensure they won’t be victims of crime.
Members of council and senior administration fully supported Bosch’s request to hold a town hall meeting and the town will step up and provide the Sonora Community Centre for the meeting and also have staff set up the facility and provide coffee and snacks to those in attendance.
Osoyoos is a small town and word spreads quickly in a community this size.
There have been rumours and innuendo about a significant increase in property and petty crime in Osoyoos for several months.
Kudos to Bosch for acknowledging a problem does exist and has become serious enough that police want to address and work with local citizens to try and solve the problem.
There’s no doubt a small, but dedicated crew of criminals are responsible for this recent crime spree and this town hall meeting should serve notice that the community is fed up and police are going to step up efforts to catch them and reduce crime.
No date has been set for the town hall meeting, but it will likely be held in early March.
There’s no reason hundreds shouldn’t jam into the Sonora Centre talk about the problem and hopefully discuss possible solutions.
With a concerted community effort, we have great confidence that the current increase in crime can and will be reduced and we commend Bosch and the RCMP for taking such proactive steps to address a serious problem in our beautiful town.
Problems like this don’t simply disappear without action and it’s going to take a team approach by police and residents to tackle it.
