Need for policing grows
OCTOBER 2006 — VOLUME 4 ISSUE 10
As it expands and thrives, Sun Peaks has become more and more of a target for criminals and a hot spot for illicit activities.
Unoccupied houses, expensive sports gear and luxury cars and SUVs are at risk when it comes to thieves and vandals. Unfortunately, as the community is still quite small and relatively remote, there’s no full-time policing to prevent such crimes.
Sun Peaks falls within the mandate of the Kamloops Rural RCMP Detachment, where local officers have experienced increasing workloads in policing the area.
“Criminal activity has been rising at Sun Peaks, especially in the last calendar year,” explains Const. Craig Thomson. “Last winter there were many break-ins and thefts of skis and snowboards, and this summer there were tools stolen from construction sites and also mountain bikes. It’s never been this bad.”
Last spring Thomson tried to establish a community policing program, calling on Sun Peaks residents to participate. Unfortunately, he says, the response was non-existent.
“We advertised the program to try to get some volunteers out and we set up a meeting, but nobody showed up,” Thomson comments. “We want to try it again before next winter season.”
Anyone can become a volunteer—training and support will be provided by the detachment and Thomson assures would-be volunteers that they will not be doing front-line policing.
“All we need is to have a willing group of people and we’ll train them,” says Thomson. “We want to have some people working out of the office at the Shuswap Lodge. They’ll be the first line, a liaison between us and the community.”
Thomson also notes that he’s ready to help establish a neighbourhood watch but that too relies on volunteer manpower.
“If we don’t see enough support, we’ll do like we did last year and only go up there on a complaint basis in addition to our occasional patrol.”
Because of the large area that the rural detachment encompasses, coverage of the area is necessarily limited.
“They certainly are doing their best to cover a very large territory,” says Ashley Tait, communications manager for Tourism Sun Peaks.
Tait notes that over the summer, a number of mountain bikes were reported stolen.
“They [the RCMP] were able to identify a suspect and make an arrest, but no charges have been laid so far. The RCMP is reviewing video footage. It seems to be a group of people working together and could be an isolated incident,” comments Tait.
Although Sun Peaks is an idyllic and peaceful place to live, it’s important that residents and visitors be conscious that criminals are ubiquitous.
Everyone should take the necessary measures to protect their possessions. Whether you’re vacationing, or living and working on the mountain, lock your skis and snowboards, doors and windows and do not leave valuables visible around your property or in your vehicles. Be aware that misfortune could happen to you too!
To report suspicious activity, call 911 or contact the local detachment at 250-314-1800. To volunteer for the Community Policing program, call Const. Thomson at 250-314-1800.
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