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Kelowna RCMP have adopted an online crime spotting tool being used in Red Deer called Pinpoint that encourages residents to report suspicious activities and call in the police.

Darren Caul, the City of Kelowna’s community safety director, would like to take that a step further.

“We are in conversations with the RCMP around what other data can be made public and how can we take that kind of data and actually push it out,” he told a Kelowna Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting on crime and safety today, June 29.

“There are tools out there to be able to move beyond the days of parking a trailer at the end of your neighbourhood saying: ‘Be aware thieves are active in this area’ and actually pushing that to your phones based on your postal code.”

Through a revamped Block Watch program called Strong Neighbourhoods, there is a network in place where that information could be shared, he said.

“I really see opportunity there to be able to provide people with targeted and timely information when risk occurs so you can take action in your community,” Caul said. “We have to find a way to push information out that says: ‘Right now you need to know somebody’s active in your neighbourhood and we need you to take action.’”

While it’s an idea that may make sense as a way to help reduce crime, actually making it happen is still a long ways off.

“This is in the ideation stage,” he told iNFOnews.ca.

Social media is rife with sites that alert people to suspicious activity around town.

“That comes with potential benefits and potential risks,” Caul said. “Therein lies the challenge. When people are circulating erroneous information and then people are irresponsibly or irrationally acting on erroneous information. That’s a real risk.”

He recalled a time when police would put out alerts about auto thefts but that sometimes led to citizens actually trying to catch the thief.

So work needs to be done on if and how such information can be used.

The Red Deer program started about six years ago, according to Red Deer News Now.

“Last month, RCMP say, eight Pinpoint persons of interest were arrested for weapons charges, flight from police, driving while suspended, failing to comply with release orders, theft and other outstanding warrants,” a May 2022 article says.

“With the public’s help, it acts like an oversized neighbourhood watch program,” it quotes RCMP Staff Sgt. Rob Marsollier, as saying. “Citizens who recognize anomalies in their neighbourhoods, or in the business areas where something or someone doesn’t seem to belong, can call these suspicious activities in, then we send patrols. Often it turns into something where there is criminal activity happening.”

What the program doesn’t do is make the hotspots public.

What Red Deer RCMP do provide though a city webpage is a crime map that pinpoints offences over the previous 14 days. It includes the type of crime and date, and the site of the offence can be located by zooming in on an interactive map.

In his presentation to the Chamber Caul spent much of his time talking about how crime statistics are not a great tool for measuring public safety, especially in Kelowna.

READ MORE: Kelowna RCMP hamstrung by justice system that leaves offenders on street

Each year, metro Kelowna is compared to 32 other major metropolitan areas on the Crime Severity Index that ranks crimes according to what kind of jail terms they trigger.

Part of the problem with that system is how the different offences are weighted, Caul said. For example, fraud is ranked higher than assault.

The other big issue is the math doesn’t take into account that Kelowna has two million visitors each year. When they are involved in crimes the fact that they are from outside the city isn’t counted into the calculation.

That’s why Kelowna ranks consistently in the top six major metropolitan areas on the Crime Severity Index and will likely continue to do so, Caul said.

On the other hand, there are 13 other cities in BC alone that rank higher than the City of Kelowna, Caul said.

What the city relies on is a survey of the public’s perception about how safe Kelowna is.

The latest survey found 81% believed Kelowna was a safe city. That’s lower than previous surveys and Caul said efforts are underway to make that better.

“We cannot reduce crime in our city unless everybody and all facets of the system share the responsibility,” Caul said. “If we all do our part, we can make a difference.”

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