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Small town cops evoke zero-tolerance for breaching court orders

Princeton RCMP check on offenders up to three times a night
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Offenders in Princeton are being advised to mind their Ps, their Qs and their court orders.

The local RCMP detachment has evoked a zero-tolerance for people who are breaching their probation conditions that has swept at least half a dozen men and women back into the court system in the past month.

Corporal Chad Parsons said charges are being laid “even if it’s a small breach,” for example if a person is in his or her own backyard after curfew, as opposed to being inside the house.

“We would still put that through for consideration to the Crown.”

Police are performing what amounts to bed checks in some cases.

“Sometimes we are at their house two times a night and three times a night and then switching up hours,” said Parsons.

Breaches depend on the specifics of an individual’s court order but commonly include being out of residence after curfew, consumption of drugs or alcohol, and possession of weapons and even cellphones.

“What we discussed as a detachment is that we seem to have the same people reoffending all the time so to help keep our community safe we decided to take a more proactive approach on holding these people accountable to the conditions they are on.”

The new policy gets mixed reviews, said Parsons.

“Certain ones they understand we are just doing our jobs…others aren’t a fan of it.”

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Andrea DeMeer

About the Author: Andrea DeMeer

Andrea is the publisher of the Similkameen Spotlight.
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