Rural police unit to bolster force

Roger Knox - Vernon Morning Star Published: July 15, 2010 6:00 PM

North Okanagan rural communities will have more police presence. The Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP detachment has announced the creation of a North Okanagan rural unit which will police the west side of Okanagan Lake down to LaCasa Resort, Spallumcheen, Armstrong, Falkland, Enderby and the North Okanagan Regional District areas. “Collectively, we’ve combined these areas together to create an integrated approach to effective policing of the region as a whole,” said detachment Supt. Reg Burgess. The unit, which began July 5, will include 26 police resource positions, including two First Nations officers, two general investigative officers and two patrol supervisory sergeants. Members will continue to report to the actual departments they’re assigned to. Armstrong-Spallumcheen has eight assigned officers, Enderby has six and Falkland and the regional districts have three each. The creation of the unit does not affect the Vernon detachment, that is, no Vernon members are lost to the new unit.

“Our goal is to provide the best possible police service to everyone in the North Okanagan with the number of police officers we have,” said Burgess. The unit was created in part after at least one community expressed frustration over what they perceived as a lack of police presence. Officials in Enderby felt their city was getting the short end of the stick when it came to police resources, stating they had problems with theft and vandalism. Coun. Greg McCune told The Morning Star there were a number of incidents of theft at the community campground on the July long weekend, and he believed the need to patrol the Funtastic Slo-Pitch Festival in the city may have diverted officers. The rural unit is being seen as a good move by Enderby Mayor Dee Wejr. “I think the new unit is great, to tell you the truth, because I’ve already noticed a difference in police presence around Enderby,” said Wejr. “Whether that is because us verbalizing our unhappiness or not, I’m not sure, but I think it’s a step in the right direction. If it works, great. We do feel a little under policed in the community.” Wejr feels the new unit will make residents feel safer and help out the RCMP members as well. “It must be a struggle for them. It wasn’t the members we were complaining about, it was the fact that the system didn’t seem to be working,” she said. “It’ll be a matter of waiting to see how it goes but I think it’s a positive step.” Burgess said a new shift schedule will be introduced in September that he believes will further create efficiencies to the delivery of police service.