Leaders in Duncan and North Cowichan, B.C., have been reviewing the RCMP's latest report on calls for service in the region.
Overall, there was a slight uptick in calls last year, roughly a two per cent increase in 2022 compared to the year before. However, specific neighbourhoods in the region saw dramatically different increases and decreases in calls, according to RCMP data.
William Arnold, owner of Experience Cycling in Duncan, said he was once frustrated with the state of the TCH Corridor neighbourhood.But then the business owner reframed his approach, along with others in the neighbourhood. That change has led to positive results today. "He treated me like a human instead of just an addict that was a nuisance and in the way all the time," said resident Lance De Bree.Since then, De Bree says he's turned his life around and he now works at a nearby butcher shop.In 2022, calls for service also decreased by 14 per cent in downtown Duncan and by three per cent in the Duncan mall area, according to RCMP. However, calls for service increased by a whopping 72 per cent in the Cowichan Commons neighbourhood, and by 49 per cent in the Warmland region over the same time period. David van Deventer, president of the Duncan Cowichan Chamber of Commerce, says many of those calls involve property crime, assaults and check-wellbeing requests. "There's a couple areas of town that have seen dramatic increases and there's reasons for that," said van Deventer. "We moved a whole bunch of people into the area and I don't think the supports were all there right away," he said.The Duncan Cowichan Chamber of Commerce thinks more needs to be done during the day to support people in the community."The idea of the project is to give those disadvantaged people, the homeless population, a place to go during the day. Unfortunately, right now, there's nowhere to put it," he said. Regardless of what's done next, some community members say compassion is a crucial ingredient to the solution."I just think that everybody deserve a chance," said Arnold.
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