Charmaine de Silva, Kelowna, B.C. (AM1150) – Kelowna’s Top Cop is NOT happy with the way certain statistics are used to paint our city as one of the most crime-riddled communities in the country.
A recent report by Statistics Canada lists Kelowna as having the 2nd most crime per capita out of all the major census areas in the country, and the 4th highest crime severity rating.
Superintendent Bill McKinnon says these reports base their findings on population, which doesn’t take into consideration the large volume of visitors that come to the region every year.
“For Kelowna, they used the entire Kelowna detachment policing area, with a population base of 178,000, but the reality is we really police the 178,000 plus 1.2 Million tourists annually.”
McKinnon says the number of crimes reported spikes during our busiest tourists seasons, and the report paints an un-realistic image of Kelowna.
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Superintendent Bill McKinnon is not telling the whole story.
He fails to point out that tourists visit other communities as well as Kelowna. Other tourist destinations are similarly impacted, yet their crime rates are not as high.
He also fails to point out that the added burden of tourists to Kelowna is included in the staffing calculations for the detachment.
Supt. McKinnon is charged (along with the men and women serving under his command) with enforcing the law and protecting the public with these resources.
Something’s not working, and it’s not the crime stats.