By Lyonel Doherty
RCMP Superintendent Ted De Jager addressed Oliver town council on Monday regarding what police are doing to address crime in the South Okanagan, including Oliver.
The South Okanagan’s top cop admits that the RCMP is stingy with information, but he’s hoping to change that in Oliver.
That was Superintendent Ted De Jager’s response when questioned by Mayor Ron Hovanes during a meeting of council on Monday.
The mayor inferred that communication lines with the local RCMP are not ideal, particularly when incidents unfold in Oliver.
“In the absence of information, people make up their own facts via social media,” Hovanes said.
He noted there seems to be a lack of response time regarding informing the public, especially when there are “spikes” in crime.
De Jager acknowledged that police can be better at sharing information more quickly.
“The police are very curious but very stingy with information . . . a lot of information we could be much more open with.”
The superintendent began his presentation by addressing staffing issues, noting that Oliver is “running light” on staff, which he hopes to address in the near future.
“We’re trying to increase staffing numbers; we’re looking at a 10 per cent increase to support our specialist teams,” De Jager told council.
He referred to two teams, one being a community support team to target chronic social issues, such as homelessness and mental health.
De Jager said the RCMP get a lot of mental health related calls, therefore, their focus is creating a mental health officer in partnership with Interior Health.
Hovanes said the Town is still concerned about the impact the new correctional centre is having on local police resources.
De Jager said as they receive extra resources, they plan to create a special position within the facility to handle tasks that will ease the burden on local RCMP.
The superintendent said they haven’t seen a big rise in service calls to the prison. But it’s steady, with occasional assaults, he pointed out.
De Jager said the overall impact the prison is having on the community is difficult to measure. He noted that most of the inmates who leave the centre are taken to Kelowna for a bus ride home.
Sergeant Blaine Gervais said the Calgary police service flew in to Oliver recently to arrest a fugitive. He noted that local police are “glad to get him out of the province.”
