Mayors from Vernon, Kelowna, and elsewhere in the Okanagan call for justice reform

Sep 19, 2025 | 3:01 PM

The Mayor of Vernon and other local leaders from the Okanagan have issued a call for justice reform.

An op-ed by Vernon Mayor Victor Cumming, Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas, West Kelowna Mayor Gord Milsom, and Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield, stated that one individual was responsible for over 220 negative police interactions in the Okanagan since 2021.

“They have ignored court orders (including bail conditions) 31 times, failed to appear in court 32 times, and gone right back to committing assaults, threats, thefts, and disturbances within days of being released,” the open letter from the mayors said, adding this was not a unique case.

“This is our justice system repeatedly sending chronic offenders back onto the streets of our community without consequence, without care, emboldened to continue victimizing our community. Our citizens and businesses deserve better.”

The mayors issued call for “meaningful justice reform,” saying these issues are being felt in communities throughout the Okanagan and across British Columbia. They say people are “cycling through a justice system that is stretched beyond capacity, while the most vulnerable people are left on our streets without a pathway to recovery.”

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The letter went on to say municipalities have invested heavily in RCMP, bylaw officers, firefighters and other local crime reduction measures, while also providing land for programs to address homelessness and support local businesses. However, they say local governments are not designed or able to handle the escalating costs of crime, homelessness, untreated mental illness, addictions, and other related issues.

The mayors said the costs of crime are felt by the public in terms of costs to small businesses who need to replace smashed windows and invest in expensive security measures. And they’re also stretching police, fire, and ambulance services thin.

They added that another study on these matters is not required, stating solutions were already identified in the 2022 Provincial Government’s commissioned report A Rapid Investigation into Repeat Offending and Random Stranger Violence in British Columbia.

Among those recommendations, the local mayors put a call for more prosecutors to be based in the Okanagan; for a change to the system to address declines in the charge rate for reported crime; and rolling out mandatory compassionate care for those who pose a danger to themselves and others.

“Lasting change has to come from the provincial and federal governments addressing the root causes of these challenges head on,” the mayors wrote.

“Right now, our justice system is failing, and it is communities including ours that are paying the price.”

The op-ed was released as municipal leaders are gathering in Victoria for the Union of B.C. Municipalities Convention from Sept. 22nd to the 26th.

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by Liam Verster

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