RCMP TO TARGET PUBLIC'S BIG FEARS

When it comes to public safety, fear can be as destructive as crime
itself.

With that in mind, the city's RCMP will target enforcement in the
coming year to address areas of public concern, all the while working
within resource limits, said the city's top cop.

Supt. Jim Begley said the RCMP went through a consultation process in
2004 to better target enforcement efforts in 2005. The results of
those public meetings will continue through 2006. More meetings are
planned to allow further fine-tuning of operational plans.

"We'll be meeting with the public, city council and all our community
partners to set out our goals and objectives for the year ahead,"
Begley said.

He noted that many citizens expressed concerns about drugs,
prostitution and related crimes.

As a result, the detachment increased bike and foot patrols in North
Kamloops and the city's downtown core. A four-member action response
team was formed in August to target crime that most often affects
public perceptions of safety -- issues like crack houses and auto crime.

Begley said the city RCMP's action response team has been effective. A
month-long crackdown on grow-ops saw 10 residential homes searched and
more than 3,000 marijuana plants seized, for example. Despite that,
the work needs to continue.

"What we're seeing is that these problems aren't changing. They're
still very similar," Begley said.

"What we want to do now is put the right people in the right place.
For example, if prostitution is not as big an issue with the public as
drugs then why not focus on drugs more?"

Coun. Pat Wallace, a member of the city's police committee, said
Monday she's pleased with the RCMP's willingness to listen to public
concerns about crime, and target enforcement to match.

But there is only so far the detachment should go when it comes to
addressing public worries and in the end, police managers must use the
resources to do the job they know needs to be done.

Citizens frequently want more uniformed police officers hired to walk
beats or man bicycle patrols, Wallace said.

While hiring more members may result in a more visible police force,
the extra officers may not achieve results proportionate to the cost,
she added.

"If I'm being held up by a gunman, I don't want to be told all the
officers are out riding bikes."

Wallace said she wants systems implemented that employ the use of
objective statistics, so there is a way to measure progress on crime.

Too often perceptions of crime don't reflect reality, she said. Some
neighbourhoods see temporary problems surface that create the
impression crime is rampant while overall, problems may be
diminishing.

"There needs to be a balance between reality and what is possible,"
she said.

Wallace said she expects the police committee will continue to meet
with Begley and other senior managers to learn about and help decide
policing priorities through the coming year.

She also wants to explore some way of lobbying federal lawmakers to
change or enable laws that allow Canada's courts to deal more
effectively with repeat criminals and new crime trends.

Begley said much of the operational planning for 2006 will depend on
staffing, as well as needs identified by the public.

"If we get several reports about crack shacks operating at such and
such a location, then (the action team) will focus its attention
there. If there is a rash of bank robberies like we had in the fall,
then they will be focusing on that."

The team did foot and bike patrol duties this past summer and will do
the same next year. It's not yet known whether an officer will walk
downtown streets through the summer as Const. Mark Price did in
August, Begley said.

"It all depends on the demands of the day It's something we will
look at in February," he said.