Public Safety & Neighborhood Vitality
The Safe Streets & Clean Neighbourhoods Plan: A Common-Sense Blueprint for Kamloops
If you talk to any small business owner along the Tranquille corridor or downtown, or a parent trying to take their kids to a park in Sahali or Westsyde, they will tell you the same thing: they are completely exhausted by vague political platitudes while our community standards decline. We’ve been told for years that the street disorder and property crime we see every single day are "provincial responsibilities" and that municipal hands are tied.
The data tells a grim, expensive story. A recent report by the Kamloops & District Chamber of Commerce and local BIAs revealed that Kamloops businesses lost an estimated $1.2 million to crime and vandalism in a single year—a staggering 28% increase over the previous year. Worse, local business owners and residents are showing signs of "fatigue and normalization"—meaning people have stopped reporting smashed windows, shoplifting, and open disorder because they feel nobody is coming to help.
I refuse to normalize chaos. We don’t need more hand-wringing or expensive committees. We need a city council with the spine to use the legal tools we already possess. My plan isn't based on political speak; it is a direct, actionable blueprint to clean up Kamloops, hold operators accountable, and return our streets to the law-abiding citizens who pay the taxes in this city.
As your city councillor, I will aggressively introduce and champion the following motions to restore safety and common sense to Kamloops:
The Reality: The Kamloops RCMP recently highlighted that a tiny group of just 13 prolific offenders were responsible for 359 police files in a single year. Our local detachment is working flat out, but they are trapped in a revolving-door justice system. Meanwhile, multi-million-dollar provincial social agencies operate supportive facilities in our commercial cores with zero accountability for the disorder bleeding onto our sidewalks.
What I Will Propose:
The "Teeth on Good Neighbour Agreements" Motion: I will table and champion the immediate bylaw amendments to mandate strict, independent quarterly audits of all operators of provincially funded social housing and shelters. If an operator fails to maintain cleanliness, eliminate biohazards, or provide adequate security within their immediate vicinity, the city will declare the property a "Nuisance Property" under Bylaw No. 49-1 and impose escalating daily non-compliance fines on the Service Providers. If you want city zoning support, you must meet city standards.
The Real-Time Crime Centre (RTCC) Pilot Motion: I will bring forward the legislative directive to fund and deploy an integrated, high-definition camera network in documented property-crime hot spots. This pilot will give CSOs and the RCMP the ability to detect criminal behaviour as it happens and lock down ironclad video evidence to ensure repeat offenders face actual jail time.
The Smart Restorative Justice Motion: Drawing on my professional background as a certified Restorative Justice Facilitator, I will drive through a funding directive to scale up local Restorative Justice pathways. We must be realistic: trying to fine a severe drug addict with nothing to lose does not work. This program will strictly target first-time, non-violent property offenders who still have something to lose, forcing them to face the business or homeowner they harmed to take direct responsibility and immediately pay for the damage through restitution or labour.
Pillar 1: Reclaiming Enforcement & Operator Accountability
The Reality: Orderly streets breed orderly behaviour. When garbage, shopping carts, and vandalism are left to sit on public property for days, it signals to criminals that nobody is watching and nobody cares. Local business organizations are constantly calling for place-based safety strategies that protect our commercial corridors from feeling like war zones.
What I Will Propose:
The "Rapid Response Clean Team" Motion: I will champion the operational reallocation of public works resources to establish a dedicated, mobile cleanup unit. This team's sole mandate will be to proactively patrol and immediately clear trash, shopping carts, and biohazards within hours of notification. We will link this team directly to a 1-click reporting feature on the myKamloops app so residents can instantly drop a pin and get action.
The "Bright & Clean" Security Grant Motion: Small businesses shouldn't have to go bankrupt just to protect their storefronts. I will put forward a motion to establish a city-matched micro-grant program (up to $2,500 per business) to help local commercial tenants install high-output security lighting, shatterproof window film, and functional security systems.
The Neighborhood Block Watch Funding Motion: Safety starts at home. I will introduce a motion to create direct city grants for local neighborhood associations to resurrect, organize, and properly equip Block Watch programs with modern signage and community safety resources. City hall needs to back the citizens who are stepping up to watch out for their own streets.
Pillar 2: Rapid Response & Environmental Renewal
The Reality: A person in the deep grip of severe addiction and psychosis cannot be penalized by a bylaw ticket. Leaving people to deteriorate on sidewalks isn't compassionate—it is abandonment. True compassion means getting people into the secure medical care they drastically need.
What I Will Propose:
The "Secure Care Kamloops" Regional Application Mandate: I will issue an immediate mandate requiring the City of Kamloops to formally apply to the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions to be the next designated regional site for BC’s secure, involuntary care housing model, thereby drawing provincial healthcare dollars into the Interior.
The Secure Treatment Land-Use Fast-Track Guarantee: I will aggressively advance the land-use motions to pre-zone and fast-track municipal land permits specifically for a regional, secure psychiatric and addiction treatment center. If Victoria funds the medical beds, Kamloops City Hall will clear the red tape and hand over the land to build it tomorrow.
Pillar 3: Compassionate Intervention & Secure Treatment
The Reality: Public trust is broken because residents feel disconnected from crime statistics, and online reporting feels like a black hole, leading to a dangerous decline in crime reporting.
What I Will Propose:
The Public Kamloops Crime Map Motion: I will direct the immediate launch of a public, high-level, map-based online dashboard. Without compromising private data, this map will give Kamloopsians real-time access to property crime trends in their specific neighbourhoods, allowing communities to stay informed and vigilant.
The Federal RCMP Online Reporting Lobby Mandate: I will introduce a formal provincial lobby mandate via the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) to aggressively pressure the federal government to modernize the RCMP’s online crime reporting tool. If technology allows us to track a $20 pizza to your front door, the federal government can build a system that sends automated tracking updates to a citizen who reported a $1,000 tool theft.
Pillar 4: Rebuilding Transparency & Broken Systems
The Safe Streets & Clean Neighbourhoods Plan is more than a policy document; it is a commitment to the families, seniors, and business owners of Kamloops. By integrating proactive safety measures with strategic vitality, these pillars work in unison to restore the confidence our city deserves.