Those 'Dear John' letters

It's a letter that would, or should, send shivers up and down the spine of any errant husband or boyfriend who happened to wander into certain areas of Vernon, frequented by street prostitutes.
Perhaps, it's not the 'A' that Hester Prynne was forced to wear in Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel, 'The Scarlet Letter', but this letter bears Inspector Randy Kolibaba's signature, and only eight have been issued in the past two months in the Vernon/North Okanagan area, which stretches from the city in all directions and includes Falkland, Armstrong, Enderby and Lumby and even to the outskirts of Oyama.
As any city grows, street prostitution can balloon into a major concern, and these 'Dear John' letters are a great deterrent in cleaning up troubled downtown areas.
Kolibaba, with the title of Officer in Charge of the Vernon/North Okanagan detachment, with a staff of 121, including 91 sworn police officers, believes the 'Dear John' letters are not only a deterrent to "customers" but opens the doors for certain city services to step in to give the street prostitutes an alternative lifestyle, enabling them to get off the streets.
So if a police officer comes knocking on your door with an official letter from Kolibaba, you should find other living accomodations, at least for the night, and, possibly, permanently.
It reads, in part:
Re: NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERN
Your Vehicle:
Location Stopped:
Date/Time Stopped:

The RCMP in Vernon are committed to assisting and improving neighborhoods and are encouraging the assistants of individuals in this task. Residents and business people are concerned about the amount of street prostitution and the effect on their community. The high volume of motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic which this actively encourages is of particular concern. Related to this concern is the spread of communicable diseases such as the H.I.V. virus. I am sure these concerns would be even more disturbing to you, if you lived in the neighborhood.
You were stopped by a Police Officer and spoken to as noted above. To assist us and the citizens of the neighborhood, it would be appreciated if you would avoid bringing your vehicle or walking in the area unnecessarily.
Your cooperation in this matter is appreciated.

Kolibaba said in all area of policing within his jurisdiction, "we actually involve the community in the problem."
Of course, Kolibaba and his staff have partners including the Social Planning Council for North Okanagan and its executive director, Eric Kowalski.
In a press release, it was announced the council had received $12,450 from the National Crime Prevention Office -- Community Mobilization Program to coordinate the "Partners for a Safe and Healthy Downtown" initiative. The project is a joint effort of the Social Planning Council, the RCMP, the Downtown Vernon Association, Women's Transition House, North Okanagan Youth and Family Services and a range of other organizations.
"The project is bringing together a range of stakeholders in Vernon's downtown core to discuss genuine and longlasting solutions to some of the problems facing the area," explained Kowalski in the press release.
"I don't think many people realize how lucky Vernon is in having maintained a vibrant and attractive downtown business area, particularly in view of the onslaught of malls and big box stores. But, we need to bring together all interests -- business, social service, enforcement and others -- to ensure we maintain and enhance the appeal of the downtown, and to provide services and supports that will appeal of the downtown, and to provide services and supports that will benefit all members of the community."
Kolibaba reiterated that "we have a great deal of sucess with three pillars of policing that we utilize in the Vernon-North Okanagan region and those pillars are: pro-activity, co-activity and reactivity and the overall focus is to present a more wholistic approach with dealing with the root cause of crime involving the community.
"I firmly believe the more involved the community is the better we all can deal with the inherent issues plaguing our community."
While such complex problems as homelessness, panhandling and prostitution will not disappear overnight, but the wholistic approach of such community leaders as Randy Kolibaba and Eric Kowalski and others gives Vernon a great advantage of succeeding while others have failed.