Williams Lake considers state of emergency to deal with rising crime, but not nightly curfew [Video]

The six most common risk factors in the community are suspected, unmanaged mental health concerns, lack of appropriate housing, the inability of residents to have their basic needs met, drug abuse or misuse, financial hardship and residents associating with negative peers the report found.

Coun. Scott Nelson, who proposed the motion for the local state of emergency, said change has to happen now.

“There is a theme that is out there and that theme is obviously one that … there’s lots of thefts, there’s assaults on the public, there’s open drug use, there’s fires in the downtown core regularly,” he said.

“There’s public indecency, there’s intoxication, they’re crapping all over the sidewalks, they’re wiping it all over businesses in the downtown core. We’ve had a break-in at the shelter, I think three times now, in the back at the existing Hamilton Inn.

“They’re throwing needles into peoples’ yards where children live, by Hamilton Inn. We opened up the Boitanio Park washrooms here approximately 18 days ago and it’s been …