Council attended a very successful Community to Community forum with the Cariboo Regional District and the Williams Lake Indian Band last week.
Under the theme “Understanding Conflicts and Realizing Opportunities,” we had collaborative discussion on our respective roles as governments, and how to turn opportunities for conflict into opportunities for potential partnerships.
This was an excellent way to begin the new year as we work together to enhance relationships and work for the people of the Williams Lake area.
Many thanks to Williams Lake Indian Band for showing strong leadership in facilitating this discussion; we look forward to establishing a working group as we move forward.
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The RCMP has reported the crime statistics for 2013, and we continue to see the numbers drop.
All categories of crime have dropped since both 2008 and 2012, with the exception of auto thefts, which rose to 124 in 2013 from 100 in 2012.
This is still a dramatic reduction from 2008, when nearly 300 cars were stolen in Williams Lake.
Overall, property crime has fallen 34 per cent since 2012.
It is heartening to see that spousal assault cases have dropped 22 per cent from last year, which is a significant improvement.
The RCMP is spearheading a new project to assist both victims and perpetrators which will soon be implemented province-wide. Inspector Warren Brown, Safer Community Co-ordinator Dave Dickson, the RCMP members and staff, and all of the Community Policing volunteers continue to do an excellent job of enhancing safety and reducing crime.
There is still much work to be done to help reduce crime in our community, and I am excited to have an opportunity to participate in the upcoming Province’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Crime Reduction coming up on Jan. 30.
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This week, I attended a lunch with Minister of Justice and Attorney General Suzanne Anton. Also in attendance were MLA Donna Barnett, Chief Ann Louie, Dave Dickson, and RCMP members from Williams Lake, 100 Mile House, and Alexis Creek.
We had a good discussion on community safety and using community resources to address crime.
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I was recently reminded of how fortunate we are as a community to have our hospital facility.
I had a recent trip to emergency with my daughter (note—all ok) and was impressed with the professional, helpful and efficient treatment we received.
Thank you!
Kerry Cook is the Mayor of Williams Lake.