The town of Smithers is looking for people to sit on a new committee that aims to reduce crime and help foster a sense of safety in the community.
The Select Committee on Community Safety and Well Being is mandated to explore, evaluate, and recommend to council policies, programs, and initiatives aimed at reducing crime and providing adequate shelter for vulnerable populations.
The group of four people will be tasked with identifying key challenges and opportunities related to community safety and crime reduction; to assess the effectiveness of existing policies and programs in promoting safety and well-being; as well as engage with relevant stakeholders, including community members, law enforcement, businesses, healthcare professionals, and local government officials.
The committee will then develop and propose actionable recommendations to council regarding crime reduction, providing adequate shelter for vulnerable populations, and community safety. They can also make recommendations to council respecting any additional studies, research, and reporting that may assist future decision-making.
Councillor Genevieve Paterson brought up the idea for the committee last year and is happy to see it come to fruition.
“My hope is if we have some tangible actions and a plan, then when funding becomes available, we have a plan in place and we can apply for some of that funding,” she said.
Her idea behind the motion was to help reduce crime in town and uphold the vision of the Official Community Plan. In a report she wrote for council’s consideration when she introduced the idea, she stated taxpayers are already seeing an increase in costs incurred from homeless encampment clean-ups and an increase in taxation from the need to hire more RCMP officers.