VIDEO: Kelowna Mayor hopeful the province is serious about addressing 'catch and release' justice

As co-chair of the BC Urban Mayors' Caucus, Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran has been turning up the heat on the provincial government to take action on a justice system that is failing BC cities.

The problem is prolific offenders, and how the same individuals are getting arrested and released and arrested again in a never-ending cycle.

Basran is optimistic that a letter sent to BC Attorney General David Eby will be an important step toward positive change.

"The 13 of us mayors are seeing the same things happening in each of our communities," said Basran, in an interview with KelownaNow.

"We're hearing from our residents, our business owners who are tired of having their businesses broken into, their homes, their vehicles," he said.

"And a large part of it," Basran continued, "done by a small group of people who just seem to be caught and released, and the cycle just never ends."

The letter points to Kelowna as one of the more startling examples.

15 prolific offenders in the Central Okanagan city are linked to 1,039 negative interactions with the police.

One Kelowna repeat offender was the subject of 346 police files and racked up 29 convictions since 2016.

"People are frustrated," he said, "and so are we as mayors."

The officer in charge of the Kelowna RCMP Detachment, Supt. Kara Triance publicly complained about the problem back in November.

Basran said he is not suggesting we just lock them all up.

It's just not that simple.

"There is no doubt that there are certain people that when arrested for crimes, should and need to spend time in jail," he said.

But he quickly points out that most prolific offenders are people who are suffering from significant mental health and addiction issues.

"How are they going to be rehabilitated in prison?" he asks.

"The likelihood of them getting the help they need in prison is slim to none."

Instead, the Kelowna mayor would like to see greater use of 'community' or 'integrated courts'.

"Where somebody instead of going to prison," he explained, "can plead guilty and if the supports are available, can then seek a path of getting help for their mental health or addiction issues, but it's mandated."

An integrated court was established in Kelowna in May of last year.

Basran said greater use of that system around the province is just one of the suggestions that are being forwarded to the Attorney General.

"Enough is enough. We have to do things differently."

And he said he believes the attorney general will be taking action.

"It was Minister Eby who requested this information," Basran points out, "I do believe it's being taken seriously."

The letter to the Attorney general was co-signed by Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps.

Basran said he and the other dozen mayors who are part of the BC Urban Mayors' Caucus are willing to work together with the provincial government to help find solutions.