CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. – A support group for the Downtown Safety Office will help make downtown Campbell River safer.
According to a statement from the city, the group is made up of city staff from the RCMP, fire department, operations, facilities, recreation, long range planning, development services and bylaw enforcement.
“To continue the improvements taking place downtown, this group will coordinate existing resources to act on recommendations from the RCMP crime analyst and an assessment of downtown based on crime prevention through environmental design principles,” deputy city manager Ron Neufeld said in the release.
“Between these two lists of potential actions, the group will have a significant amount of work to do, and the working group will continue to seek input regarding policy from the City’s community healthy and public safety advisory committee and Council.”
The City of Campbell River opened the publicly accessible downtown safety office in July.
The office is the base for the city’s downtown security and parking patrol officers. Campbell River’s bylaw enforcement department is also in the same office, and provides a checkpoint for RCMP officers.
The Downtown Safety Office is funded from the city’s gaming reserve, generated from a percentage of lottery and casino revenue instead of property taxation.
The statement also included the council’s policy directs that this fund supports sport, recreation, and social causes.
