EDITORIAL – Time to call in the National Guard to the streets of Kamloops?

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

MAYBE IT’S TIME to call in the National Guard to Kamloops.

OK, Canada doesn’t have a national guard but something dramatic is needed to start dealing with violence on the streets as well as the alarming presence of crime in general. Today, RCMP reported they were called to intervene in some sort of incident in which a man was attacked with a machete on Victoria Street.

It didn’t happen late at night when things can get especially dicey on the streets. This one was during shopping hours.

The same report said police also handled a situation in which a man was attacking another man with a metal pipe.

A couple of weeks ago, again in the afternoon, police had to break up a fight among several men on Victoria Street.

Downtown isn’t the only area dealing with constant incidents of crime, of course. A week or so ago, I went looking for a particular item that was advertised on a store’s website as being available. Three of them were in stock, it said.

When I got there, the shelf was empty of the item. A clerk explained that it was a “high-theft item” and the store’s website hadn’t caught up yet. She phoned a sister store, which fortunately still had it in stock.

A clerk at the second store, on the opposite side of town, acknowledged that the same problem was going on there. Shoplifters have learned how to defeat anti-theft devices, she said.

It’s not uncommon for store employees to watch as thieves brazenly walk out without paying. It’s become too dangerous to try to stop them.

Just today, I was shopping for a different item in an entirely different type of store, and felt comforted by the fact a security guard greeted me at the door. It was the first time I’d seen a security guard there, but they’re increasingly common as stores desperately try to cut down on the huge loss of inventory due to theft. Going out of business is an alternative for merchants who can’t afford expensive self-security measures.

Fights on main street and the devastating effects of break-ins, thefts and threats being experienced by merchants are just a couple of examples of the alarming matrix of crime in Kamloops.

No, we don’t have a National Guard and we’re likely not ready or able to call in the army reserve, but clearly it’s time for some serious action. When the Victoria Street fight was broken up earlier this month, RCMP spokespersons attributed their fast action to an increased police presence due to Hot Nite in the City and Ribfest.

Maybe, at the least, we need more such presence, targeting specific problems in specific areas. The fact a machete was being waved around on Victoria Street is plain scary.

Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.