The head of the Vernon RCMP says road enforcement measures are paying off. Superintendent Reg Burgess told council, there's been a 40% reduction in traffic deaths this year, with 6. He says they've held 55 road checks around the area this year, compared to 18 last year. More than 800 traffic tickets were issued to Greater Vernon drivers in the third quarter, while another 450 were given warnings. Criminal code files in the third quarter were up 3.4%, the first time in seven quarters there's been an increase. "We hope this is just a blip in the system," Burgess told council. Councillor Patrick Nicol asked Burgess about safety issues in Polson Park. "I'm always hopeful something could be addressed there, "said Nicol. Burgess says using citizens on patrol, bylaws and new lighting may be a way to alleviate some of the issues. Meantime, just like in other areas of BC, unintended calls to 911 are a problem for Vernon RCMP. Superintendent Burgess told council they get a significant number of those, usually a result of cell phones in pockets. His advice if you do mistakenly call the emergency number is not to hang up, but rather talk to the operator and let them know what happened. He says that will save police a lot of time by not having to track down the calls.
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