With summer here and school out, Kelowna RCMP are ramping up their efforts to stop youth from committing crimes.

A Youth Officer Program is being implemented, after police said that there is a sa国际传媒渟ense from the communitysa国际传媒� that more minors have been involved in crimes over the last several weeks, mostly in the downtown and in Rutland.

A release from the RCMP reads that the main goal of the program will be to sa国际传媒渄ecrease the risk of property crime and increase the sense of safety in public spaces.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淲e have heard from the community that there are concerns surrounding issues of youth violence, crime, and social disorder,sa国际传媒� said Sgt. Andrew Hunter.sa国际传媒� We take those concerns seriously, and are implementing steps to address these issues.sa国际传媒�

The officers will proactively engage with youth in high traffic areas around town, primarily parks and beaches.

Some might recognize the familiar faces of the officers involved, as they will be the same Community Youth Safety Officers that work with students during the school year.

It is expected that this program will alleviate the pressure on general duty officers, allowing them to answer the many calls that come in throughout the day.

The youth officers will be working with programs like Youth Probation, Youth Crown, Boys and Girls Club and Foundry to give youth the resources they need.

READ MORE: Kelowna sees almost 20% increase in intimate partner violence: RCMP

READ MORE: sa国际传媒楾his issue does occur in our communitysa国际传媒�: Human trafficking in Kelowna

Jake.courtepatte@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on and follow us on and subscribe to our daily and subscribe to our daily newsletter.