OKANAGAN CITIES TURN TO SAFETY PATROLS

A decade ago, downtown security patrols were unheard of in the Okanagan.

Police provided enough of a presence to give people a sense of safety
and security, but times have changed.

Okanagan communities were smaller then, but today, private security
is a fact of life in a growing city. That growth incubates crime and
a perception that the streets are not as safe as they once were.

To deter crime and give people a greater sense of security, two
Okanagan cities have turned to safety patrols that roam the streets,
helping when needed and keeping an eye on known hot spots.

They are not police, but provide a sense of security for visitors or
workers in the downtown cores.

Anyone who reads the newspaper or frequents the city centres knows
there have been problems in recent years with transients, drug
dealers and other shady members of society. The safety patrols act as
a barrier between the general population and those on the fringe who
may intimidate the average citizen simply by their presence.

Not all homeless people cause problems, but people tend to paint
others with a wide brush, and a handful of aggressive panhandlers can
make the community leery of all panhandlers.

In Kelowna, the safety patrols have operated since May 2001 under the
umbrella of the Downtown Kelowna Association.

The DKA and City of Kelowna both pay for the patrollers, who are
active Monday to Saturday.

The patrols were born out of a 1998 study that found people expressed
safety concerns in the city centre.

DKA executive director Clint McKenzie said the patrols have been well
received and have made a marked difference in the city.

Jonas Klippenstein is the president of Highland Security, which was
recently hired to patrol the city centre.

Klippenstein said the general public has embraced the patrollers.

The majority of the street population has as well, but not everyone
wants an extra set of eyes and ears out there, looking for trouble,
said Klippenstein, who patrols the city centre.

"We observe and report (to police) and, as citizens, we get involved
from time to time to deter crime," he said.

Klippenstein said 90 per cent of the street community has respect for
the patrollers and has formed a relationship with the security
personnel, but the remaining 10 per cent can cause problems.

Klippenstein said drugs are most often at the root of hostility shown
toward patrollers, who are all trained.

"Those people can be pretty desperate and, at times, it can become a
dangerous situation," he said.

The patrollers have a close relationship with police and other services.

Along with helping to deter crime, McKenzie said patrollers will walk
people to banks and to their cars, pick up needles, and are trained
in first aid.

"Just about anything in an urban environment, they can take care of,"
said McKenzie.

Patrollers are also wandering the streets of Vernon, doing much the
same type of work, but their future is less secure.

A debate has arisen in the northern city over the patrollers, who are
hired by the Downtown Vernon Association. Some people question if
they are needed or if the same job can be done by bylaw enforcement
officers hired and trained by the city.

City council recently put a request for money to extend the DVA
program on hold while it determines the need for the patrollers. The
DVA has provided funding for the patrols through the end of August,
but there is a movement among city officials to have bylaw officers
take over the downtown duties.

DVA president Malcom Dunn said he hopes the bylaw officers can take
over, as the DVA can't afford to keep paying the Commissionaires.

Like in Kelowna, the downtown patrols were initiated after a survey
found safety concerns among businesses and citizens.

The patrols started this past November.

Dunn believes bylaw officers can do the job, but they must overcome
public perception that all they do is write parking tickets.

"That's all they have been known to do," said Dunn. "We're anxious to
see how the bylaw officers will do."

The bylaw officers will have more power and authority than the Commissionaires.

Dunn said the Vernon RCMP also plays a significant role in keeping
the downtown safe with added patrols and enforcement.

Earlier this week, Vernon RCMP arrested an aggressive panhandler. He
was charged with mischief and possession of a controlled substance.

"Vernon doesn't have as big a problem as other cities do, and we
don't want to see it get as bad as other cities," said Dunn. "We need
to send a message this is not a place to come if you want to cause trouble."

Clint Kanester, Vernon manager of bylaw enforcement, said the bylaw
officers are trained to deal with issues such as illegal drugs and
associated problems.

The hiring of five additional part-time officers will allow for
evening and weekend patrols of the downtown core, including area parks.

Kanester said the bylaw officers and Commissionaires do similar
duties, but he would not say the Commissionaires should be eliminated.

"I think certainly the more the merrier," he said, but did add the
duties of the two groups would overlap.

"Our powers are somewhat stronger in terms of what we can and can't do."

The two groups receive similar training, but the bylaw officers carry
pepper spray, a baton, handcuffs and wear Kevlar vests, the same type
that police wear.

Kanester said those items are "mainly for personal defence. It's not
an aggressive tool."

He added the bylaw officers will come into contact with dangerous
people as part of their job.

Last month, a bylaw officer was assaulted by a motorist while trying
to issue a parking ticket.

Kanester said the assault was minor and the matter is under police
investigation.

The third largest city in the Valley has remained safety-patrol free.

Penticton has no such patrol, and, according to Downtown Penticton
Association executive director Nora Haft, there are no plans to introduce one.

"We do have a community policing office downtown," said Haft, adding
auxiliary police conduct foot patrols in the city centre.

"They are trained, and a lot of them take the next step into the
RCMP," said Haft.

Ian Esson works out of Penticton's community policing office and
helps co-ordinate the auxiliaries with the RCMP.

They have more than a dozen active auxiliaries, but Esson said it is
becoming more challenging to find volunteers.

Esson said people are busier than ever and are putting in more hours
at work. Every group that relies on volunteers is finding it harder
to fill the gaps.

However, he is currently training six new auxiliaries.

Along with foot patrols through the downtown area, auxiliaries also
conduct bike patrols with regular members.

Esson said the auxiliaries are not police officers - they are known
as provincial peace officers - but they are able to assist in arrests
and other police matters when they are with a regular member.

"They are there to supplement a regular police officer only," said Esson.

Just their uniformed presence acts as a deterrent, he added.

Haft said Penticton has panhandling bylaws that are enforced.