Okanagan Correctional Center near Oliver Penticton’s new city council wants answers about where inmates released from the Okanagan Correctional Center go and how they are transported, ostensibly in response to a long-standing rumor that out-of-town inmates left in the city contributed to an increase in crime. At Tuesday’s meeting, Coun. Helena Konanz made a motion to formally request from the Department of Public Safety “the number of people in custody who have been released from the Okanagan Correctional Center (OCC) in the past 12 months [near] Oliver and left for Penticton, and other related information.” The OCC is the province’s largest provincial correctional facility and has been fully operational since 2017. In the past, the Department of Public Safety and the RCMP have said there was “no evidence” that crime rates are increasing in communities where correctional facilities are built. BC Corrections is required to facilitate the return of released offenders to the community in which they were sentenced by providing “the means necessary for them to return to their home country or other location deemed reasonable,” according to a 2019 statement to Castanet. Konanz said she wants proof. “So this is basically a fact-finding mission, we have to make sure the provincial authorities keep their promises,” Konanz said. He cited crime as the number one issue facing the city right now and a concern that came up repeatedly during the October general election. “Penticton has one of the worst crime rates in the province and there’s no reason for that… We’re a small community. We don’t have the services that larger communities have like rehab, rehabilitation, mental health. Most of us in this room we don’t have a doctor right now, let alone those who are out on the streets and have these issues that need to be addressed. We’re a very small community. We’re not Kelowna, Vancouver, Kamloops,” Konanz said. Coun. Isaac Gilbert had concerns with the move. “What would be the intent if we got those numbers, what would we do with those numbers, going forward?” said Gilbert. “My only concern with going with such a move is that it perpetuates this fear and stigma that people come into our community as criminals and cause crime to still be here if we as a society tell ourselves that prison is the punishment , I don’t think we need to continue to punish people who have been released from prison and are trying to rebuild their lives when they return to their community.” Others on the council saw no harm in asking for the information. “The more information we get will probably be a move and a step in the right direction. And I think that’s what the public has been pushing for,” said Coun. James Miller said. Coun. Ryan Graham was also in favor, and added a new motion to formally invite the OCC warden to appear before Penticton council at a future meeting and answer questions about prisoner release procedures. Konanz’s original motion passed with Gilbert opposing. Graham’s motion passed unanimously.
