Private security guards hired to patrol the streets in Smithers; Williams Lake nearly declaring a state of local emergency due to public disorder; and in Nanaimo, an iron fence proposed to separate city hall from the “congregations” of people around it.These are just some of the ways that communities across British Columbia are struggling to tackle what local leaders say is an increasingly desperate situation connected to a complex web of social issues throwing their streets into disarray.”We have an issue here,” says Prince George Mayor Simon Yu. “We need bail reform immediately. We need a better triage system to find the people in need … We need to find the root causes of the issues and work together to prevent them from happening.”Prince George, B.C., Mayor Simon Yu stands outside city hall on Sept. 17, 2025. (Andrew Kurjata/CBC)Yu and other B.C. mayors says they’ll be taking that message to the Union of B.C. Municipality meetings kicking off in Victoria Monday, an annual convention which allows local leaders from around the province to talk to each other and advocate to higher levels of government for change around all manner of topics.In Prince George, the issue of public safety is top of mind in the wake of an alleged arson that destroyed a cornerstone downtown business, CrossRoads Brewing, just steps away from city hall. The business’s owners told city council they have no intention of rebuilding until they see safety improvements in the neighbourhood.”We are under siege,” Daryl Leiski and his co-owner Cindy Zurowski wrote in a letter to council.”We cannot continue to put our employees, our families, our community and our businesses at risk. We need action – real, urgent, decisive action. Give us back our streets. Give us back our sense of safety. Without it, businesses like ours cannot survive, let alone rebuild.”WATCH | Downtown businesses say they can no longer operate without improved security: Prince George brewery destroyed by alleged arson says it won’t rebuild unless ‘security improves’A popular Prince George, B.C., brewery destroyed by alleged arson says it won’t be rebuilding unless the safety situation in the city’s downtown improves. As the CBC’s Andrew Kurjata reports, that’s expected to be one of the top issues, as municipal leaders from around B.C. meet in Victoria later this month.Yu said, while it is his understanding that statistics show an improvement in downtown safety in recent years, he acknowledged that for many businesses, aggregate numbers have little bearing on their reality.”It only takes one event to … impact the feeling that downtown is not safe,” he said. “We need to improve.”‘It just feels hopeless’Every time Michelle Sakamoto arrives at her downtown Prince George nightclub, she starts by patrolling the grounds to find what new damage has been done to her building.Aside from feces and drug paraphernalia, she says, there are often scorch marks from fires and signs of people attempting to break-in.Just days after CrossRoads burned, she says she arrived to find paper and wood chips stuffed into her doorway, smoldering after being lit on fire.”It’s like a kick in the teeth,” she said. “We just can’t seem to keep up with it.”Prince George, B.C., nightclub owner Michelle Sakamoto says she found smoldering cardboard jammed into her business’s doorway shortly after another nearby business was destroyed by alleged arson. (Andrew Kurjata/CBC, Michelle Sakamoto/Facebook)Sakamoto understands what CrossRoads is going through, because she also suffered significant damage after a building next to hers exploded, the result of a copper pipe theft that blew out the windows of businesses blocks away and sent a city bylaw worker to the hospital.She sympathizes with people struggling to survive, but says there’s a difference between people lighting fires to stay warm and people stuffing cardboard into her doorway and leaving it burning.She also says she debated whether to even bother reporting the incident to police because it feels like their hands are tied when it comes to taking action.”It just feels hopeless,” said Sakamoto.Calls for bail reform, more supportsOne person has been arrested in the CrossRoads fire, a man RCMP say is “well known” to police and has previously been charged with mischief causing damage to property.It’s chronic offenders that a group of mayors in the Okanagan are hoping to draw attention to this week, penning an open letter outlining the impact of allowing the same people to be released again and again.Amelia Merrick of the advocacy group Together We Stand says while the City of Prince George has taken steps to reduce the need for homeless camps through temporary shelter spaces, the province needs to step up to create more permanent solutions and mental health and addictions treatment facilities throughout the province. (Jason Peters/CBC)”In Kelowna in 2024, 15 individuals were responsible for 1,335 police files. That is a new police file nearly every four days, per person, and yet they were released back into the community almost immediately,” said the letter, which was signed by the mayors of Kelowna, West Kelowna, Penticton and Vernon.”In Penticton in 2024, 15 individuals were responsible for 420 police files. The costs are felt by people in every corner of this province.”LISTEN | Cities attempting to deal with downtown disorder: The CurrentHow far are cities willing to go to address crime?Cities in Canada have been taking unprecedented measures to deal with crime in their city — like hiring private security guards to patrol their downtowns. Some have even declared a state of emergency. We speak with the Mayors of Smithers, BC., and Barrie, ON., to talk about the unprecedented path they’ve taken to address public safety, crime, addiction, and homelessness in their communities.The group calls for bail reform on a federal level, making it more difficult for repeat offenders to be released, and asks for an investment in more Crown prosecutors, so cases can move through the court system more quickly, as well as “mandatory compassionate care” for “those who pose a danger to themselves or others.”Many of those are items that Premier David Eby says he is in support of, and both he and Prime Minister Mark Carney say they discussed bail reform, in particular, while meeting in Ottawa this week.But an advocacy group in Prince George says, while they agree changes are needed, they worry the discussion is focused on solving problems, rather than root causes.Amelia Merrick of Together We Stand says there needs to be significant investment in mental health, detox and wrap-around services that are now still out of reach for too many.She points out that the same week CrossRoads burned, there were two fires in a nearby homeless camp, one of which sent a woman to hospital. The relative lack of attention to that issue, she says, is an indicator that unhoused people are often seen as the perpetrators of crime and disorder, rather than victims of it — even though they’re the most vulnerable.While she credits the City of Prince George and the province for their work in increasing the number of temporary shelters available in the city, she said there is still chronic under-investment in programs that can help prevent problems before they start.”The perpetual and systemic underfunding and lack of political attention … has left us vulnerable, cold and afraid,” her organization writes in a petition. “We want to see person-centred programs and responses. To do this, people who are most affected need to be part of the design and implementation” of any program.However, she agrees with the message sent by many speaking on the issue.”We are in a crisis,” she said. “We can’t have one more unnecessary fire.”
Downtown disorder top of mind as B.C. cities head to Victoria for annual meetings
