Police pursue more resources

By Roger Knox - Vernon Morning Star Published: January 01, 2012 1:00 AM

Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP Supt. Reg Burgess was very happy with the 2011 statistics for his detachments. The numbers show that Criminal Code offences were down 7.5 per cent in each quarter in the detachment, which beat the national average. And there was a 31 per cent improvement in impaired driving enforcement over the first half of the year, thanks in part to the Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP) program. While happy with the numbers, Burgess believes things could be even better in the region if he had more resources. “We’d hoped to have an increase in resources in 2011, but with the tough economic times, we didn’t,” said Burgess. The detachment has an agreement with the City of Vernon to bill for 50 healthy bodies, and at that level, the Mounties have been successful in reducing crime and calls for service. It has also allowed Burgess to do some pro-active things like maintaining a school liaison officer and a highly popular two-unit foot patrol in the downtown core. “If I had a wish list, I’d like a few more resources dedicated to municipal traffic,” said Burgess. “A second school liaison officer would be a huge benefit to the community, and if I had another person to dedicate to crime reduction initiatives, I believe we could push our statistics even better. But we’re doing well with what we have.” Highlights in 2011 included knocking the crime rate down, targeting prolific offenders and major projects such as a street-level undercover drug operation in the summer that resulted in 21 street-level dealers being arrested. There was also plenty of success in shutting down marijuana grow operations, and that will continue to be a focus in 2012. Other top priorities for the new year will remain the same as 2011. “The top three were crime reduction, communication and road safety,” said Burgess. “There’s still work to be done in all of those areas, but they’re still our top three.” There’s also one other item outstanding for the local detachment: solving the murder of Taylor Van Diest. The Armstrong teen was found badly injured from an attack Halloween night near a bush area by the Rosedale Avenue railway tracks, and died in Kelowna hospital later that evening. Police have been searching for a suspect ever since, devoting more than 40 officers to the case, and came up with DNA that matched a man involved in a 2005 sexual assault in Kelowna. Police just don’t know who the man is. “We’re still working very hard on this, it’s one of the most massive investigations in the history of the North Okanagan,” said Burgess. “We feel the pressure, both internally and externally. Any type of a whodunnit is a priority, and the guys are working extremely hard on this case.”