Businesses in the town center and Rutland are demanding action from the highest levels of government on crime and street issues. The Downtown Kelowna Association and Uptown Rutland Business Association are among more than 70 business improvement associations publicly calling on municipal, provincial and federal governments to find a solution to the urban decay plaguing many inner cities. “This is a collective crisis and we need a collective response,” says Teri Smith, President of Business Improvement Areas of BC. “We recognize that there is a vulnerable population suffering from addiction, mental health and homelessness in this province – and there is no question that our elected leaders need to address these issues urgently,” Smith added. “However, there is an immediate need to support small business owners, their employees and the communities they serve, who are also being drastically affected.” Downtown Kelowna Association executive director Mark Burley says the group’s on-call teams are experiencing an “unprecedented volume of calls.” “Our cleaning team is constantly cleaning as the street population moves from space to space,” he said. “The rise in crime is affecting businesses through theft, trespassing and broken windows facing the street. Most worrying and disappointing is the proportion of burglaries and incidents carried out by repeat offenders.” The DKA says crime and public safety concerns are clearly not just a “Vancouver problem” and governments need to take steps that will improve things across the province. Uptown Rutland Business Association Executive Director Karen Beaubier says the “current environment” makes it difficult to grow the business community in the neighborhood. “Systemic changes in the justice system must be made as soon as possible,” he said. “Yes, that’s a big ask, but it’s important when small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of BC’s economy that continue to incur additional costs while surviving a pandemic. Having to think about keeping workers safe and taking additional security measures adds to the pressures that occur on a daily basis in every community in BC. How much longer can they last? It’s a fair question.” The city of Kelowna says it also wants to see change. “It is clear that we cannot solve these issues around crime and public safety alone,” said Mayor Colin Basran. “The city continues to advocate with other levels of government for upstream solutions to address these issues and avoid the catch-and-release cycle that has proven to be a real issue in our community. We continue to see the results at the local level of a justice system without adequate consequences or care.” Last week, BC Assistant Deputy Attorney General Peter Juk defended the justice system against recent widespread criticism. While crime has spiked in Kelowna, Juke noted that crime rates are down in B.C. amid increasing public discourse about prolific offenders and random violent attacks. “The system is not broken. No system is perfect, however, and public confidence in the criminal justice system is vital to its success,” he said.
