“Not all of Kamloops’ homeless are criminal or addicted; they are just trying to get by. With winter gone, homeless camps have been springing up by the river, just a block from my home. When I walk by their camps on a warm spring day, their lives seem idyllic –until I realize they are not on vacation and that homelessness is not an option they choose.”
Kamloopsians are being terrorized, businesses vandalized and personal property stolen by a small number of people.
What can be done? It will certainly be an issue in the upcoming municipal election in October.
While it’s tempting to blame the homeless for crimes but the opposite is true: some vandals and petty thieves just happen to be homeless.
Some don’t even live in Kamloops but move from town to town.
Such was the case last month when Kamloops RCMP responded to complaints from merchants about thieves making off with shopping carts full of stolen merchandise. During the blitz, police made a number of arrests of men and women wanted in other B.C. cities.
Targeting prolific offenders is one solution but holding them is a problem.
In a letter to B.C.’s Attorney-General David Eby, mayors of the 13 largest B.C. cities told him that the province has failed to…
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