Communication breakdown

Shots were fired outside a social housing complex in Penticton last Monday. Oh, you didn’t hear about it? Neither did the local media, until a press release landed in our email inboxes on Friday at 5:24 p.m.

Now, shame on us in the press for not having our ears close enough to the ground to find out about it before the police told us.

But it should be incumbent upon the RCMP to inform the community about such serious incidents in a timely fashion – especially when they’re appealing for the public’s help to find witnesses (see page A3).

In fairness to Cpl. Dan Moskaluk, who issued the press release, last week looked to have been hellish for him as the media relations officer for the entire Southeast District.

Other notable files on which he worked included a fatal workplace accident at a Penticton car wash on Nov. 8 and the conclusion Nov. 9 of a massive search at a property north of Vernon where the remains of a missing woman were found.

Knowing how busy Moskaluk was, could no one else at the Penticton RCMP detachment have found the time to let the public know about the shooting? Such a job used to fall to Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth, who’s now on extended leave for reasons we weren’t told about, and his boss, Supt. Ted de Jager, has yet to tell us if Wrigglesworth will be replaced.

Wrigglesworth played a key role in launching weekly media briefings on Tuesday mornings during which he would review recent files.

I was never under the illusion we were getting the detachment’s deepest, darkest secrets, but it was a good way to keep tabs on what was happening in the community, and I’m sure the public appreciated it. Those sessions were cancelled without warning effective Oct. 31.

De Jager promised upon taking the reins of the detachment earlier this year that communication with the public was a priority for him, but we haven’t seen that yet, outside of a summertime town hall meeting that received mixed reviews.

During his watch, there were two violent incidents – a shooting in April and a stabbing in June, both fatal – that we heard nothing about afterwards.

It’s my understanding both were deemed to have been cases of self-defence, so what’s the big deal about police going on the record to confirm that?

Mounties are increasingly heard to say they won’t release information unless it furthers their investigations, but that’s a poor way to treat the public they serve – and that pays the bills.

On an entirely unrelated note, thanks to everyone who took time to email me their thoughts on The Penticton Herald in response to last week’s column.

In general, please bear in mind we try to appeal to as broad of an audience as possible, and we’re revamping schedules to ensure Penticton is better represented in the Okanagan Weekend.

Thanks again for writing and don’t hesitate to get in touch: editor@pentictonherald.ca.

Joe Fries is the city editor of the Penticton Herald.