Expansion of the RCMP’s Business Watch program garnered some back and forth between public safety committee members at a meeting last week.
Chief Supt. Dave Critchley explained that while the program has been successful in the Hastings/Brentwood area, it’s fallen short in most other areas in the city.
“We’re trying to get more traction to get (business) owners engaged,” Critchley said.
Some of the challenges of implementing an effective Business Watch program are due, in part, to the fact that it’s been mostly volunteers out canvassing businesses to join, Critchley added.
He said that while the intention is a good one, many volunteers don’t even end up speaking with business owners, and then it’s left in the hands of the employees to pass on the message.
On top of that, there are more than 6,000 businesses in the city, which requires a lot of work to get the owners engaged enough to join the program. Despite the challenges, the committee decided to keep the item in its workplan, and Critchley agreed, adding that the RCMP would try and reach out to businesses in different ways, possibly through public safety notices, to get them engaged in the community.
At the same meeting, members also voted to cut two other action items that would have had the city and RCMP implement a Crime Free Motel/Hotel program and a Taxi Watch program. The committee did, however, approve the item addressing the RCMP’s Mental Health Intervention program.
“This matter is being reviewed at the Lower Mainland District level and discussed by Lower Mainland mayors and is to be coordinated at that level,” a report to committee stated, adding that Burnaby’s program in particular has been very active since its inception.
Burnaby has also requested numbers on mental-health-related calls and spending from other cities in the Lower Mainland to see where the city stands, deputy city manager Lambert Chu told the committee.
Some revisions were also made to the action items related to the committee’s external communication and public education plan and promotion of increased traffic enforcement and pedestrian safety in school zones. These changes will be included in an updated report outlining the new workplan, which will be presented to the public safety committee and council at a later date.
