Advocacy group welcomes property crime program, but B.C. must deal with root cause

“We have to continue to monitor that all the time, but I just get frustrated, quite frankly, that we continue to deal with the symptoms and not the cause,” he said.

The coalition is made up of more than 120 community and business organizations from across B.C.

Police have said a small number of people cause a disproportionate amount of property crime and the multimillion-dollar program will focus on them.

The government says it will create 12 regional teams of police, prosecutors and probation officers among other staff to find those who need additional supervision and support based on their criminal history and risk.

“I’m always shocked at the amount of crime very few people cause,” Ketchum said, when asked about the government spending $8 million per year to supervise fewer than 500 people.

He said that figure doesn’t just include the policing, but also the cost for other staff and facilities. “So, you can eat up that $8 million a year pretty quickly.”

“Certainly, some of that money will be recovered, if you really do curtail these crimes,” he said.

The program builds on pilot projects in Kelowna, Nanaimo and Nelson underway since last November, targeting repeat offenders.

The province said in its statement that police in Kelowna have credited the program with helping stabilize property crime trends, including a decline in break-and-enter offences.

“Retail theft and street disorder undermine public safety and place added pressure on local businesses,” Krieger said. “We’re building on progress we’ve made, dedicating more resources and working with partners to strengthen enforcement and keep communities vibrant and safe.”

Ketchum said there has been some success in the pilot projects, but he wondered what will happen after the two-year-program runs its course.

“We have long advocated for a full build-out of the continuum of care for addictions and mental health around the province,” he said.

Monday’s announcement comes amid ongoing calls from various groups to improve public safety, and after the federal government passed new legislation making it harder to get bail for repeat and violent offenders.

Ketchum said he wishes he could report a vast improvement in public safety.

“But I can’t, and we are seeing evidence of it every day,” he said. “Again, it goes back to the impact of drugs and mental illness, and we are going to continue to see these problems not only stay with us but even expand if we don’t deal with the drug problem.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 22, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Advocacy group welcomes property crime program, but B.C. must deal with root cause

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