COUN. JACK GILROY IS A PRETTY CASUAL GUY

Coun. Jack Gilroy is a pretty casual guy, who is known more for giving
people hugs than he is for climbing aboard a soap box.

So it was a bit of a surprise when he went all law-and-order and
demanded stiff action over Polson Park's persistant drug trade.

"Why should our kids be chased out of the park by an element we can
control?" he said.

And Gilroy certainly has a point as both dealers and users are making
their way into what is traditionally known as Vernon's Jewel in the
Crown. It used to be that criminal activity was restricted to those
hours when the gates were locked and the park was closed, but that
doesn't appear to be the case anymore.

Gilroy has received numerous complaints from people, including
grandparents.

"There is open drug use and we need to watch it closely," he
said.

For Gilroy, the solution is to turn Polson Park into a red zone (under
court sentencing, an individual can be ordered to stay out of a
particular area. If they are found there, they are considered to be in
breach of their sentence and they can be arrested).

There are currently two red zones in Vernon - around Cenotaph Park and
the Upper Room Mission - and while activity there has been minimized,
it's likely they have fuelled problems elsewhere, including Polson
Park.

And the reason is that any druggies who can't set foot in Cenotaph
Park or near the mission need somewhere to go. Creating a red zone
doesn't wipe out crime, it just moves it on.

It's a reality the RCMP are well aware of.

"You can have a problem and red zone it, but soon you could look at
the map (of Vernon) and it could all be red zone," said Insp. Steve
McVarnock during a recent report to city council.

An aquantienace of mine has often suggested that Vernon could take
care of its crime problem if the red zone covered the entire
community, right to the border with Coldstream and the two electoral
areas.

Coun. Juliette Cunningham suggests that red zones create a "false
sense of security" for merchants and residents,