Penticton Mayor John Vassilaki.

Image Credit: Submitted/City of Penticton

As citizens patrol the streets looking to seize what they deem to be stolen items in Penticton, the city's mayor said he understands why they're frustrated.

But he's worried that roaming citizen patrols confronting street-entrenched people could escalate to violence.

"They said they go out with 15 (people) or so together at the same time, but that can cause huge problems," he said. "It's making a bad situation worse."

Jason Reynan told iNFOnews.ca that he, along with members of his group dubbed "Clean Streets Penticton," patrol the streets aiming to retrieve items that have been reported as stolen. If they seize something they cannot find an owner for, it's then donated. Bikes, he said, will go to the Penticton and District Society for Community Living, which runs a non-profit bike shop.

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Reynan wants to supplement what he sees as an overworked police detachment, adding that RCMP officers he's spoken to were supportive of his efforts.

"I do believe the detachment is not going to have a problem with what we're doing," Reynan said.

The detachment's official response, however, urged Penticton residents not to take the law into their own hands.

"We encourage our citizens to continue to observe and report suspicious behaviour to us, and participate in the court process. However, we cannot condone vigilante type activities if we are to move toward lasting solutions," Penticton RCMP said in a statement.

When asked about individual members supportive of Reynan and clean streets, spokesperson Const. James Grandy said he and Supt. Brian Hunter agreed their statement was "satisfactory."

Vassilaki doubts the legitimacy of Reynan's words and support from officers.

"I don't think the RCMP would make those kind of comments to those folks," he said, adding that he doesn't see any merit to citizens patrolling the streets and confronting suspected thieves.

He did say, however, there are official channels where citizens can either patrol the streets or take part in City decisions. One such example is Citizens on Patrol, which is a RCMP-sanctioned group that is meant to both deter crime and report it.

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"We had that group for many years, but they wouldn't approach the people that are breaking the law. They patrol the area and call police if they see someone breaking the law," Vassilaki said.

Citizens on Patrol are trained by police before taking to the streets, which is something Reynan says he's open to. Reynan and other members of the Clean Streets group are set to meet with City officials and RCMP ahead of next week's council meeting.

"I would love to (work with RCMP) and I think that's a step in the right direction," Reynan said. "We're going to try to get a better understanding of a plan where we can all work together. I think the problem is they think we're stepping on people's toes."

Facing criticism from the public and from the mayor, Reynan pointed to a catch-and-release corrections system as having led to the Clean Streets program to begin with.

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"I don't know how much worse it can get," he said in response to Vassilaki's criticism. "If I don't feel safe walking to and from my car after work, and after I pay my taxes, then who's doing a bad job?"

While he's heartened still by the opportunity to meet with RCMP and City officials, he's hoping to catch the attention of the provincial government, so it can enforce stronger measures against prolific offenders.

He emphasized, again, that the tactics Clean Streets uses aren't meant to be confrontational or threatening, but he admitted that when a group of several men approach to call out items as stolen and try to retrieve them, "intimidation is a factor."

While the group garnered attention in recent days, he's concerned the term "vigilante" gives the group a negative connotation.

"Vigilantism can be taken in a positive and a negative way. There's nothing wrong with being vigilant," he said. "I don't think there's anything bad come out from what we've done so far."

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