By Tom Mark

Activate Safety Ready To Make Recommendations

Jul 4, 2018 | 9:48 AM

Vernon’s Activate Safety Task Force is set to make its recommendations to council July 9th.

The task force was formed and mandated to investigate the impact homelessness, poverty, addictions and criminal behaviour has on local business.

Task Force Chair Darrin Taylor couldn’t give details of the report but notes it addresses much of the issues we’ve heard about for months

“Trash and dumping and improperly disposed needles, public defecation, the proliferation of shopping carts, variety of issues like that, open and public drug use.”

Taylor says while there are some things that can be done immediately, there are no perfect solutions.

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He says it’s going to take a combined effort to raise the bar and make the city what it should be.

“You know, not turning our back on public that need help but lifting the standard of expectation around behaviour and what we’re prepared to consider acceptable and where we want to be going forward.”

Taylor says things have deteriorated significantly in a short amount of time but all hope is not lost.

He says he subscribes to the Broken Window theory.

“If we see a broken window, fix a broken window. If there’s graffiti, remediate it. If someone’s engaging in illegal or inappropriate behaviour enforce it.

Taylor says theory really lies in the notion that if we turn a blind eye to things, they tend to perpetuate themselves.

by Tom Mark