'Revolving door' of crime needs to stop, says Kelowna's top cop

The Superintendent of the RCMP in Kelowna says victims and community need crime to stop, and ensuring proper funding and alignment of police, courts and healthcare is the best hope for dealing with prolific repeat offenders.

In an interview with Kelowna10 following recent announcements by British Columbia’s new premier, Kara Triance said she believed Kelowna is “… at a precipice.

“The premier’s announcement is welcome. We’re at a time in our community where we must see justice and the administration of justice upheld,” Triance said. “We cannot continue with the revolving door and the cycle that allows offenders to come in and be put back out on the streets without appropriate housing, healthcare and access to treatment.”

But she added while those without adequate housing and treatment were likely to repeat their criminal activity, those same individuals also need to be held accountable for their actions.

A recent report commissioned by the province found that 80 per cent of crimes in B.C. were being perpetrated by 20 per cent of repeat offenders.

Triance said locally, there were about 250 people who continue to commit crimes. Earlier this year the detachment reported one offender had had 346 police interactions and 29 convictions

Among the early announcements by premier David Eby and his New Democratic government was the creation of violent offender co-ordinated response teams, including special prosecutors, probation officers and support staff to help prolific offenders break the cycle of crime.

Also, the provincial government has been advocating at the federal level to review the laws on the granting of bail. Senior provincial ministers regard the laws as not strict enough, allowing at least some violent offenders to be out of custody while awaiting trial.

“We are a system that must work collaboratively; we need holistic responses,” Triance said. “So, if those other functions, those partner agencies [like Crown Counsel and probation] aren’t able to perform, we will continue to see crime in our community,” she said.

And Triance said she was ‘very excited’ about a recent directive from Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth for the BC Prosecution Service to seek ways of detaining repeat and violent offenders.

“We really want to see a stop and change in behavior,” Triance said, noting it was for judges and lawyers to prescribe those outcomes.

“But, the victims and our community needs the crime to stop, and bail isn’t the solution every time. ... There are times when people need to be detained for the crimes they’re committing, and my hope is that will happen with some of these very clear directives that have been delivered.”