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Penticton City Council will be reviewing over the 2024 Public Safety Activities and Public Safety Survey Engagement Results on Tuesday, which find respondents wanting more of a police presence in town.

According to staff's report, the survey was initiated to gather residents' perceptions of their neighbourhood safety in November 2024.

"The survey assessed residents' awareness of emergency preparedness and related programs/initiatives and sought their input on priorities for future investments to enhance public safety," the report reads.

With a total of 1,840 responses, the results could be used in helping shape the 2025 Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan.

"It is important to note that the data presented in this report are public engagement results and not a statistically representative sample for the whole city. These results, while an important starting point, only reflect the perceptions of those who chose to participate," staff said in their report.

The analysis of the survey found most respondents identified as living in Penticton’s downtown, followed by Skaha South and the City Centre.

Some key themes from the responses were:

• Approximately 51 per cent of respondents feel unsafe or very unsafe in their neighbourhood, while 44.2 percent of respondents feel safe or very safe,
  • Respondents listed the perception of an increase in homelessness and drugs on the streets, feeling uncomfortable walking in the evenings, and a perception of increased property and vehicle thefts as their top concerns in the survey.
• The top three concerns for city as a whole that emerged from this survey are:
  • property crime (76.1 per cent),
  • illicit drug use (65 per cent),
  • homelessness/encampments (64.1 per cent),
  • lack of police presence (27.6 per cent),
  • traffic safety (23.5 per cent),
  • a lack of Bylaw presence.
• The top three choices for future investments for safety from this survey were:
  • An increase in police presence came in at the top (64.5 per cent),
  • treatment and recovery options (48.3 per cent)
  • and increased bylaw presence (46.4 per cent)
• The top three strategies to support encampment management from this survey were:
  • 60.8 per cent of respondents support managing encampments by prioritizing an increase in police presencef
  • 51.5 per cent wanting increased Bylaw presence.
  • Designing outdoor shelter spaces was third at 51.5 per cent followed closely by 45.1 per cent in favour of increasing access to social services for the unhoused.

Staff said city council has made significant investments in public safety that they feel relate to the priority areas the community have identified in the 2024 Public Safety Survey.

"Since 2021, the City has bolstered its public safety workforce by adding eight bylaw officers, nin police officers, and seven fire staff," they added.

"In 2024, the launch of the Integrated Crisis Response Team, comprising RCMP officers with three Interior Heath funded nurses, resulted in over 1,300 service interactions, enhancing the City's ability to respond to crises effectively."

There has also been approval of two additional RCMP members in 2025, which will create the detachment's new RCMP Community Safety Unit, which will focusing on proactive community policing and safety initiatives.

Staff said as presented to council at the meeting on Feb. 11, 2025 by the RCMP, numbers indicate a reduction in crime over the past five years.

Council will receive the report on Tuesday. More details on the report and ongoing investments in public safety can be found in the agenda package.