Public safety, crime and introducing a safe injection site into the City of Penticton were easily the most contentious issues at the forum featuring the three frontrunners in the race to become mayor of the City of Penticton in the Oct. 20 municipal election Tuesday night.

Incumbent Andrew Jakubeit and main challengers Jason Cox and former councillor John Vassilaki spent 15 minutes talking about Penticton’s crime problem – particularly in the downtown core – and what can be done about it.

The City announced several weeks ago it had spent more than $350,000 to try and combat issues relating to crime, including adopting a “zero tolerance policy” in early summer when it came to issues like public intoxication and open drug use in the downtown core.

Photo Credit: NowMediaThe three leading contenders to become mayor of Penticton in the Oct. 20 municipal election – Jason Cox (left), incumbent Andrew Jakubeit and former councillor John Vassilaki – discussed public safety, crime and safe injection sites at Tuesday's forum at the Lakeside Resort & Convention Centre.

The money was spent on such things as increased lighting, hiring more bylaw enforcement officers, hiring private security firms and overtime to have RCMP engage in more foot patrols downtown.

Jakubeit said the $350,000 spent “was something that the community was expecting us to try and do something to address public safety.”

The RCMP has committed to providing one officer specifically to address downtown crime issues, he said.

“Having more focus and presence from the RCMP is probably going to help significantly,” he said.

Photo Credit: NowMediaA crowd of about 150 showed up at Tuesday's forum featuring the three leading contenders to become mayor of Penticton in the Oct. 20 municipal election.

The City is also committed to hiring more bylaw enforcement officers, he said.

“I think we will continue to invest in that, because that is a big issue now for our community,” he said.

Vassilaki said the increase in crime, especially downtown, calls for much harsher action from police.

“I think the biggest problem we have is enforcement,” he said. “I think our police police force, the RCMP in Penticton, needs to take a stronger stand on those folks in the downtown core and elsewhere in the community who continuously keep breaking into properties, robbing things all that kind of stuff,” he said. “I think the most important move we have to do is to become leaders in the province community policing projects or programs … if we don’t get our community involved, along with our bylaw and RCMP, and all the other stuff we have within the City of Penticton … it won’t take place.”

Cox said the $350,000 spent wasn’t wasted, but simply “pushed people around our community all summer. We moved the problem from one area to another.”

Photo Credit: NowMediaJason Cox talked about public safety, crime and his support for introducing a safe injection site in the City of Penticton Tuesday night.

There were a lot of people hired to address issues like homelessness, addiction and mental health, but “very little of that actually made it to the street,” he said. “We have a lot more people talking about the problem and not a lot more people doing anything about the problem.”

The social services network in Penticton “is straight out of the 1950s and 60s and hasn’t been updated since. We need to spend a lot more attention on that.”

Jakubeit responded that the Community Active Support Table (CAST) program – which connects police services with numerous community social agencies  – was put in place in August and is already starting to pay significant dividends.

Many municipalities, including Penticton, have talked to provincial leaders to address concerns over light sentences being handed to prolific offenders and there’s hope this will make a difference in keeping these offenders behind bars and not roaming free to commit more crimes, said Jakubeit.

Vassilaki said RCMP need “new tactics” to deal with people who continually break the law, even for what many might consider minor infractions like drinking alcohol in public places.

“As you can see, the approach they are using aren’t working,” he said.

It’s the job of police officers to enforce the law and not be social workers, said Vassilaki.

Photo Credit: NowMediaIncumbent Mayor Andrew Jakubeit discussed safe injection sites, crime and public safety in a debate against top challengers Jason Cox and John Vassilaki Tuesday evening.

Cox said it’s become the “new normal” to allow open alcohol use and drug injections and this has to stop.

“Too often it seems that we’re reluctant to address the problem directly,” he said.

Jakubeit said he would rather see RCMP Supt. Ted De Jager talk more “talking publicly about being tough on crime rather than championing social causes … we’ve had some issues with the police being inconsistent.”

The City’s Party is Over and zero tolerance declaration to curb inappropraite behaviour on open drinking and drug use “certainly wasn’t followed up on and that was one of our biggest frustrations that we are dealing with right now.”

All three candidates support a safe injection site in Penticton.

“I know it’s controversial, but I also know that everyday … you see people decrying the current situation of seeing open drug use in the community,” said Cox. “Supervised injection sites work.”

Trained professionals would be made available to not only safely inject the drugs, but introduce counselling options to addicts, he said.

Photo Credit: NowMediaFormer Penticton councillor John Vassilaki talked about public safety, crime and safe injection sites Tuesday evening.

This is far better than the current situation where many homeowners to find addicts hanging around their property or back door openly injecting dangerous drugs, he said.

“We certainly I think need a controlled environment, where it’s not just put away and out of site, but we’re actually helping people get the services they truly need,” he said.

Jakubeit agreed said these sites are proven to improve community safety.

He recently met a former addict on the road to recovery and he wasn’t suffering from any illness or disease so often associated with addiction.

The location of a safe injection site would be controversial, he added.

Vassilaki also supported the introduction of a safe injection site.

“Absolutely, I agree we should have them,” he said.

Discussions should begin with social agencies to find an appropriate site, he said.

“It will be safe. It will be clean. There will be people there to make sure nothing goes wrong,” he said.