The 13-month Business Watch program, launched in March 2020 in response to the first COVID-19 shutdown, has run over budget and hasn’t resulted in any arrests or recovery of stolen goods, according to a May 5 District of Sechelt staff report.
“The program has run for about a year and is now out of funds and just about out of volunteers, so we would like to discontinue the program,” said communications manager Julie Rogers at the meeting.
“If we see a need for it again in the fall, council can discuss it at that time and allocate funds to it if we can find some.”
In total, the project cost $12,024. Money was spent on Business Watch signage, and on gas cards for the 20 volunteers who took two-hour shifts to survey the downtown area five nights a week from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. and occasionally from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m., the staff report said.
Costs were originally covered by the province’s emergency program, then council voted to extend the program last June to November, using $9,525 from the district’s public safety reserve with staff overseeing the program.
The Sechelt Downtown Business Association (SDBA) donated $500 last month to cover volunteering costs, said the report.
Staff also noted that of the observations submitted to RCMP, SDBA and the district weekly, “none of these reports have resulted in an arrest or recovery of stolen goods.”
In June, when council voted to extend the program, Mayor Darnelda Siegers noted RCMP can’t determine how much crime is being prevented, but that compared to impacts of property crime, the cost to run the program is minimal.
During the May 5 meeting, Siegers thanked the volunteers and repeated that while police said it’s hard to measure efficacy, “tips came in that did help with solving other things,” and in particular it may have helped reduce further theft of catalytic converters.
“I’m glad to see that the program went ahead and we will revisit it again in the fall,” she said.
