Law enforcement officials in Kelowna, B.C. are taking notice of a troubling trend: more teenagers are arming themselves with bear spray, brass knuckles, and imitation firearms.
To address the issue, the RCMP informed city officials on Monday that they plan to double the size of its youth-focused policing unit. Kelowna city council also discussed introducing new bylaws regulating and limiting the sale of animal deterrent sprays.
“We are encountering a growing number of young people carrying weapons, including bear spray, brass knuckles, and, more recently, replica firearms,” said RCMP Insp. Chris Goebel. “This makes early intervention all the more critical.”
The issue of youth incidents involving bear spray and other animal deterrents has become so prevalent that Kelowna city council approved a new bylaw earlier this month prohibiting persons under the age of 18 from purchasing such products.
The new bylaw, once enacted, would also require retailers to make deterrent spray inaccessible to the public and to keep a record of all purchases of the product for three years, including the item’s serial number and the name and address of the purchaser.
True North reached out to Kelowna–Lake County Conservative MP Tracy Gray for comment.
“After ten years of disastrous Carney-Trudeau Liberal policies violent crime in general has increased 50 percent,” said Gray.
“Instead of going after violent offenders and gangs that lead our youth into a life of violence, the Carney-Trudeau Liberals relaxed bail, took away mandatory jail for gun crimes, and instead focused on attacking our hunters and farmers.”
Despite the worrying trends, Goebel had some good news to share, highlighting a 19 per cent decline in business break-ins and a 16 per cent decline in bike thefts compared to 2023, among other positive crime statistics for the area.
Kelowna councillor Ron Cannan, however, expressed skepticism. During the meeting, he wondered aloud whether the city’s crime rate was truly dropping, or if fed-up residents were simply no longer bothering to report them.
“It’s good to see the crime stats trending downward, but could it be crime is really reduced or has the public lost confidence in the system and stopped reporting crime, or possibly a combination of the two?” asked Cannan.
“I would encourage the public to continue to call,” Goebel responded.