Kelowna RCMP said they take an education first approach
Youth-on-youth violence has more than doubled in recent years in central Okanagan, leaving parents concerned for the safety of their kids as police and school officials work to curb the staggering uptick.
For Paule Seeger, grieving her son’s death has included fighting to ensure justice is served and that what happened to Tristan lives beyond a crime statistic. Seeger’s family has faced online harassment from other youth and those she believes are linked to her son’s death. “My son was attacked… and when we spoke to police it was almost immediate washing of the hands,” Bonnie said, adding that the teens who attacked her son are known to police.
Bonnie feels helpless when it comes to protecting her son and his friends, especially when it feels as though police and the B.C. Prosecution Service aren’t interested in holding those behind the attacks to account.Neither the RCMP or the school district would comment on the case involving Bonnie’s son.Const. Federico Angulo is one of two full-time youth safety officers in Kelowna.
When the RCMP do feel the need to take matters further, the buck doesn’t stop with them. RCMP gather evidence related to a crime and forwards a recommendation to Crown Counsel. It is then up to the B.C. Prosecution Service to decide if the incident meets a threshold for charges to be approved. A couple of the teens Black Press spoke with said they’ve received threats about being attacked in their own home, some of the threats being made in person but the majority coming through texts and social media messages.
When asked about taking the hit and getting teachers involved, Josh said, “In reality, are just going to finish and you’re going to be left there pummelled. The teacher’s just going to look at you, walk right by, and not do anything about it.” The student added that the lack of consequences empowers the bullies to escalate the violence.
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