The call for governments to crack down on theft, property crime, and street violence is getting louder.
Since launching in October, the provincial Save Our Streets (SOS) coalition has doubled in size, going from 30 organizations, businesses and groups to 59.
One of the new groups to join is Downtown Prince George, joined by other groups around the north in places like Quesnel, Fort St. John, and Dawson Creek.
Some other notable members include the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association, Canadian Tire BC Dealers Group, and Save-On-Foods.
“It is definitely not just a Downtown Eastside of Vancouver issue. Our message has hit a nerve as a growing number of British Columbians recognize that a different, comprehensive, and results-driven approach is required to address the escalation of crime and violence in our communities, and it must be dealt with urgently,” Jess Ketchum, co-founder of the Save Our Streets coalition, said in a release.
“Drug addictions and drug trade, mental health challenges, law enforcement, judicial reform, homelessness, are all factors. While governments have a long history of announcing policies and programs meant to respond to these issues, the desired results have not been realized. Governments have smart people, legislative control, financial resources but also, most importantly, the responsibility to generate better results.”
SOS has launched a website, which can be found here.
As members continue to join, SOS said their next goal is to research trends found around the province to see if government actions are improving issues and making streets safer or not.
According to SOS, early findings indicate increases in security at stores around BC are costing families in the province as much as $500 a month.