New police squad to tackle public disorder in city
It’s still awaiting orders from the community, but the squad picked to lead the Penticton RCMP detachment’s response to public disorder is almost whole now.
Dubbed the Community Support and Enforcement Team, the unit was assembled by Supt. Ted De Jager based on one he created at his previous posting in Mission.
Led by Cpl. Laurie Rock, its mandate is as diverse as its members: Traffic specialists Const. Brad Caruso and Const. Chris Hipolito; First Nations liaison Const. Mike Rampone; and mental health officer Const. James Grandy.
“This team is basically going to be dealing with prolific issues and problems within the community,” said Rock, noting one of the overarching goals will be to reduce calls for service to general-duty members, such as by getting nuisance street people into homes or addictions treatment facilities.
She declined to provide specifics about some of CSET’s early priority areas, but noted she’s been busy building partnerships with the city’s bylaw department and service agencies in the fields of mental health, addictions and housing.
De Jager added CSET will also do old-fashioned police work as required.
“All of those traditional roles are in effect here, but this team is able to become a five-member traffic unit if we suddenly have a traffic issue . . . or we have a fivemember mental health unit if it comes to that. If there’s a concern on (Penticton Indian Band) land, then they’ll all go up there,” he explained.
CSET’s marching orders will come from RCMP brass, but also from a new public safety committee that’s under construction now. The group will feature representatives from service agencies, the city and school district, plus members of the community at large.
“That (committee) will then say these are places we have concerns about, and that’s where CSET comes in to deal with it,” said De Jager.
The approach has been a success in Mission, where a CSET was established about three years ago, according to Mayor Randy Hawes.
“It’s working really well. Basically what they do is — I think it’s twice a month they meet and pick specific targets — start with the low-hanging fruit and compare notes and plan an intervention,” he explained.
Hawes, whose community’s RCMP detachment is similar in size to Penticton’s, said CSET has led to a noticeable reduction in vagrancy on city streets.
“Some of our biggest problems are getting people into either housing or drug and alcohol help . . . and they’ve become much less visible and much less problematic” due to CSET’s efforts, he added.
Similar teams have also been deployed in Surrey and Mission.
De Jager was quick to tamp down expectations that CSET would simply do a clean sweep through Penticton’s downtown core, because public disorder is a symptom of much larger societal issues.
“This is a community approach and a proactive approach,” he said, “but we’re not going to arrest our way out of the problems that we see downtown.”