Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds

By Jill Sperling

Kamloops Crime

Kamloops Mayor bringing crime concerns to Attorney General

May 17, 2021 | 3:41 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian says he’s been in contact with B.C.’s Attorney General in regards to criminal activity in the city.

Christian was one of the recipients of a letter penned by the North Shore Business Improvement Association last week, airing frustrations about the increasing vandalism and crime.

Christian agrees there has been a lot of mischief happening in neighbourhoods across the city and he believe this has been made worse by the pandemic.

“A lot of individuals are feeling quite emboldened,” Christian said. “They know that the courts are slow in terms of responding to people who are arrested and that the correction facilities are operating at partial capacity.”

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According to the Ministry of Public Safety, the Kamloops Regional Correctional Facility is operating at 58 per cent capacity, down about 30 per cent from the pre-pandemic occupancy count.

Christian says there are likely 30-to-40 individuals with complex mental health and addiction issues causing most of the crime.

“If we can get help for those individuals, I think things will calm down quite a bit, so we’ve been working hard on that,” he said. “I spoke with the Attorney General and the Minister for Housing last Friday about this issue, and he’s got some ideas as well. We believe that we have enough shelter facilities within the city, we’re close to full capacity, but never over it. But a lot of people choose not to accept shelter beds. So, I think that’s the group we have to continue to reach out to and really get down to some of the root causes of some of their condition.”