Sgt. Randy Bosch addressed council Monday and announced a date for a public forum on crime in Osoyoos. (Richard McGuire file photo)
The community forum being organized by the Osoyoos RCMP detachment to discuss the increase in property and petty crime in this community over the past several months will be held the evening of Thursday, April 14 at the Sonora Community Centre.
Back in December, Osoyoos detachment commander Staff Sergeant Randy Bosch addressed Town of Osoyoos council to tell them he thought it would be a good idea to hold a community forum to talk about the increase in criminal activity in the community, while also providing citizens with an opportunity to ask questions and get answers from RCMP officers at the local detachment.
Bosch originally thought
holding the forum as quickly as possible, perhaps back in January, would be the best plan, but changed his mind after members of council said holding it in the spring would be better as many people who call Osoyoos home leave for the winter.
On Monday at council’s committee of the whole meeting, Bosch announced the community forum will be held the second week in April and that he expects a large turnout.
A similar community forum about an increase in crime in Oliver was held early last week and attracted a crowd of more than 200 residents, said Bosch.
“I want more than that,” said Bosch during his presentation to town council on Monday. “I want to have a very large turnout.”
All of the officers that work out of the Osoyoos detachment will be on hand for the community forum to answer questions from members of the public, said Bosch.
The regional superintendent from Penticton and head of the Osoyoos bylaw enforcement team will also be in attendance, he said.
Back in December, Bosch said there has been a dramatic increase in property crime, particularly auto thefts and break and enters, in Osoyoos over the past several months.
There has also been a big rise in the number of fraud cases, he said.
At the community forum, the police will talk about the increase in crime and what members of the public can do to ensure they don’t become victims of crime, said Bosch.
Mayor Sue McKortoff said delaying the community forum until April was a good idea because she’s convinced the meeting will attract many more residents than might have attended in January.
“I think you will find some people who might not have come out in the dead of winter are going to show up,” she said.
Bosch said he’s very confident the gymnasium at the Sonora Centre will be packed to capacity on April 14.
Meanwhile, Bosch also discussed the Citizens on Patrol (COP) program in Osoyoos.
Leaders with that group went public several months ago saying the organization was in danger of folding due to a lack of new members.
Bosch said he met with group members about a month ago and was very pleased more than a dozen members attended and many more members have joined the volunteer organization that has been assisting police in Osoyoos since 1994.
He called Citizens on Patrol “a great, great program” that has helped with crime fighting efforts in Osoyoos for many years.
Instead of volunteers driving around for hours in vehicles and reporting suspicious activity to police, Bosch said he would prefer that volunteers spend more time walking and cycling during their shifts.
“There’s nothing better than having these people walking along the beach during the summer and reporting problems,” he said.
He is working with a local business owner to provide volunteers with T-shirts that will feature a COP logo, said Bosch.
He also asked council if they would be willing to provide a small amount of funding to help pay for fuel costs for volunteers who use their own vehicles while out on community patrols.
“The least we can do is try and give them fuel money,” he said.
Barry Romanko, the town’s chief administrative officer, asked Bosch to find out the status of COP as a community organization and then he will make a recommendation to council to provide an annual stipend to the organization to help pay for fuel costs.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
