NANAIMO CRIME CRISIS

 


Nanaimo's Crisis: Growing Staff, Growing Problems, No Solutions

Nanaimo, like many Canadian cities, is trapped in a deepening cycle of social decay. Over the past two years, we've seen a significant increase in municipal spending on public safety—yet little to no improvement in outcomes. The city has created a new enforcement team, Community Safety Officers (now numbering 20), approved 40 additional firefighters, hired 10 more RCMP officers, and just added a full-time crime analyst position.

Yet despite this swelling public payroll, the streets feel no safer. Crime remains rampant. Drug overdoses continue to take their toll. Homelessness and mental health challenges are increasingly visible.

Why? Because none of these new positions address the root cause: a lack of political will to confront the hard truths.

There is no push for mandatory treatment for chronic drug users—those who have overdosed multiple times are released back onto the streets, destined to repeat the cycle. There is no accountability for dealers—slaps on the wrist send the message that trafficking drugs in Nanaimo is a low-risk, high-reward enterprise. Crimes committed to fuel addictions are tolerated, effectively ignored by a system overwhelmed and unwilling to act.

This is not compassion. It’s neglect—a neglect that enables suffering and fosters chaos.

The endless addition of new staff, without a corresponding strategy to address addiction, crime, and mental health, is a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. We need to start asking hard questions:

- How much are we spending on these new positions?
- Where is the evidence that these increases are making a difference?
- Why aren’t we tackling the core issues of addiction and crime head-on?

Until we confront the decay in our social fabric—by holding criminals accountable and mandating treatment for those trapped in addiction—no amount of staffing increases will solve Nanaimo’s problems.

It’s time for our city leaders to show real courage.

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