POLICE OUTLINE NEW STRATEGY

Despite confusion that a new crime fighting tool will reduce police
response, Vernon is actually on route to becoming one of the safest
communities in B.C.

That is the intent of the new Crime Reduction Strategy, outlined to
approximately 50 people at a town meeting Thursday at the Schubert
Centre.

"You're not going to see any visible lack of enforcement, if anything
you're gaining," said Terry Pakenham, Safe Communities Unit manager,
who admits he was skeptical of the strategy before understanding the
concept.

The strategy will see a specialized team (presently the Community
Response Unit) enforced with two additional members and a crime
analyst, Tacey Spence, while no members are being taken off the street.

Instead of the typical strategies used to reduce crime such as
prevention, education, awareness or enforcement, the Crime Reduction
strategy is a pro-active targeting of high-risk offenders and high
crime areas, or "hot spots."

"It's a better way of doing business," said Insp. Clair
Hayward.

As 90 per cent of the crimes are being committed by 10 per cent of the
population, this strategy relentlessly targets that 10 percentage,
adds Hayward.

But some residents question this, asking, "Aren't the police already
doing everything they can to reduce crime?"

But there is always room for improvement and this is a new and
creative way to improve RCMP performance by dedicating individuals to
target the problem.

The success of the strategy is being seen in Burnaby, which is the
pilot project city. For example, in the past year the strategy has
dropped robbery down 46 per cent, drug assets seized were up 240 per
cent, and the number of people charged with possession of drugs is up
80 per cent.

"We can't hold a candle to a place the size of Burnaby," said
Hayward.

"But they've been successful with nine (Crime Reduction Strategy)
members, so with our six we should just knock their socks off."

Many members of the community have confused the strategy with
Differential Response, as Burnaby had to use this model to free up
members, but this model has not been implemented in Vernon.

"Unfortunately a lot of people thought, 'Oh my gosh, they're going to
quit coming to our house,'" said Hayward, adding that before
differential response would even be considered the RCMP would hold a
public meeting.

Some residents also criticized the current response, or lack of, but
Hayward explains there are just some things that an officer can't
always come out to and that police judgment must be used.

"If you say, 'I'm reporting a theft of two pickets off my fence,'
we'll give you a file number and it's likely no one will attend - I
just couldn't afford to send a policeman."