City council endorsed Monday the creation of a dedicated patrol to curb the number of burning complaints and item fires in the downtown core.
It will see a team made up of a bylaw officer, an RCMP member and a firefighter take to the streets three times per week between 10 p.m. and 3-4 a.m. for four to six weeks, adding up to 12-18 patrols.
Their role would be to conduct an "escalating strategy of enforcement, as required, to stop offenders who are not deterred by the presence of these patrols or through education," according to a staff report.
"If an individual is found setting or maintaining a fire in a deliberately destructive manner, i.e. the side of a building, the RCMP have indicated that they may recommend a criminal charge of mischief in the first instance," staff says in the report.
"By starting with bylaw tickets, where appropriate, these tickets can form part of the body of evidence that would nourish the RCMP Report to Crown Counsel. This may be further accompanied by Fire Rescue’s opinion evidence on the danger as well as evidence that there is a distinction between an appropriately constructed and managed fire used for warmth or cooking and one that is destructive in nature."
The patrols would incur overtime costs. As example, within Prince George Fire Rescue, 12-18 patrols would cost $20,000-$27,500 with exact staffing depending on operational needs. However, each of bylaws, RCMP and PGFR is prepared to absorb these costs within their existing budgets.
