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Thursday, November 21, 2013 X Volume 26 No. 93
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How dangerous are the streets of Kamloops? By Dale Bass STAFF REPORTER dale@kamloopsthisweek.com
J
ANE WONDERS where Sandy and Sam are. She also wonders where some of the other women who work the streets and often call them home have gone. But, Jane says, they’re likely doing what they need to do to stay safe, like she does. Jane — no, it’s not her real name — no longer takes on new customers, sticking with those she knows. From her perspective and that of the agency that works with her, the streets of Kamloops aren’t very safe these days. Bob Hughes, executive director of ASK Wellness Centre — where Jane goes for a meal, to get warm or to talk with counsellors when she feels herself
slipping into addiction again — said the streets of the city have been more violent in recent months than in the past couple of years. It’s a view that is sparked by the stories he hears from the many clients of the Tranquille Road agency — but also by the news. “Monday morning, what’s the headline on the radio? Man beaten with a bat. Tuesday, it’s someone pulled a knife on someone,” he said. Hughes said the past summer was the most volatile he’s seen in the city in the last five years. He acknowledged, however, with a sex trade and street-level drugs being sold, violence is always likely. There are also the stories of Sandy Wilson and Samantha Paul, two women whose disappearances in April 2012 and September of this year, respectively, are
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still being investigated by the RCMP. “Sandra’s disappearance was she’s there and she’s gone. Sam’s was the same. She’s there and then she’s gone,” Hughes said. He praised the work of the Kamloops RCMP. “But, the reality is two women, they have disappeared from this
community.” RCMP Cpl. Cheryl Bush disagreed with Hughes’ contention the streets are more dangerous now, citing statistics that show reported crimes against people have decreased in the past two years. Bush also noted there have been no more sexual assaults reported
in the past quarter than there were in the previous timeframe in 2012. Key to that statement, however, is the word “reported,” Bush said. “We don’t receive the same reports as he does,” she said of Hughes. “And, if we do get them, we have to investigate everything and, sometimes, there’s a problem
with credibility. “Bob can look at these things on their face value only, but the RCMP, we need to get all sides and get information we can present to the courts. “So, if someone reads your story and calls me and asks about the streets being more violent, I’m going to tell
them to go talk to Mr. Hughes because that’s his view, not ours,” Bush said. Jane said she has heard of women being assaulted, being beaten, being hog-tied by clients — but who still won’t talk to the police about it. She said she did. X See THERE A7
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