Volume 18 Issue 3 - Winter 2012 - Crime Stoppers Central Okanagan
Volume 18 Issue 3 - Winter 2012 - Crime Stoppers Central Okanagan
Volume 18 Issue 3 - Winter 2012 - Crime Stoppers Central Okanagan
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<strong>Central</strong> <strong>Okanagan</strong><br />
host appreciation luncheon<br />
Kim Bolan<br />
<strong>Central</strong> <strong>Okanagan</strong> <strong>Crime</strong> <strong>Stoppers</strong><br />
Host Appreciation Luncheon<br />
Gerry Guiltenane,Coordinator,<br />
<strong>Central</strong> <strong>Okanagan</strong> <strong>Crime</strong> <strong>Stoppers</strong><br />
On the 19th January <strong>2012</strong> the <strong>Central</strong> <strong>Okanagan</strong><br />
<strong>Crime</strong> <strong>Stoppers</strong> program hosted an appreciation<br />
luncheon at the Coast Capri Hotel to thank our<br />
sponsors and partners.<br />
The event was well attended by our supporters,<br />
the media and local and federal politicians. A<br />
number of awards were presented.<br />
Board President David Demeyere recapped our<br />
accomplishments and statistics for 2011:<br />
• Appreciation awards were presented to our<br />
generous sponsors, Harmony Honda and Interior<br />
Savings Credit Union.<br />
• CHBC Television were presented with the award<br />
they won at the CSI Conference in Jamaica for<br />
7<br />
Best Feature/<strong>Crime</strong> Re-enactment.<br />
• Val Palmer from Castanet Media was presented<br />
with an award for her assistance in posting our<br />
Most Wanted and Unsolved <strong>Crime</strong>s on their<br />
website. Those features receive the most “hits”<br />
and draw traffic to their internet news site.<br />
• Cst. Rolly Williams from the Westbank First Nations<br />
Policing Unit was presented with an award<br />
for his dedication and persistence in following<br />
up on <strong>Crime</strong> <strong>Stoppers</strong> tips. His efforts have resulted<br />
in millions of dollars in illegal drugs being<br />
seized.<br />
We were very pleased and honoured to have<br />
Kim Bolan, the crime reporter from the Vancouver<br />
Sun, as our guest speaker. Ms. Bolan has written<br />
extensively on the Air India bombing, the Pickton<br />
murders and on the growing gang violence in the<br />
province of BC.<br />
Kim gave a history on how these gangs<br />
emerged, who the main players are and the level<br />
of violence they are capable of. She also spoke on<br />
the effectiveness of the Abbotsford Police Gang<br />
Prevention Program and how it is reducing gang<br />
recruitment in that area. Kim was very supportive<br />
of the <strong>Crime</strong> <strong>Stoppers</strong> program and often refers<br />
her “clients” to <strong>Crime</strong> <strong>Stoppers</strong>. She believes that<br />
the anonymity of the program should be emphasized<br />
because she knows there are people out<br />
there willing to talk on gang activities, but who<br />
are fearful for their safety. Her presentation was<br />
certainly an eye opener for those in attendance.<br />
There should be more journalists like Kim Bolan<br />
who are not afraid to shed the light on these violent<br />
gangsters.
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