In Kelowna, B.C., the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board (OMREB) and the RCMP announced the Central Okanagan launch of Realty Watch with 800 Realtors now available to assist police as extra “eyes and ears” in their communities.
A community crime prevention and emergency assistance program operating in British Columbia since 1994, Realty Watch has expanded from the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board to the Chilliwack, Greater Vancouver, Victoria and Okanagan Mainline boards, and is now supported by 15,000 Realtors in the province.
Realtors observe and report to police a suspicious activity they may encounter during their day-to-day business. The program also enables Realtors to respond to a police activated fan-out to search for missing or abducted children, vulnerable adults (with a physical or mental condition that puts them at high risk if not found soon) and seniors, or suspicious vehicles.
OMREB’s Realty Watch chair Brenda Moshansky says, “Most property crimes are committed weekdays between 10 am and 3 pm, a time when Realtors are traveling through residential and commercial areas, conducting their regular business routine. This puts them in a unique position to observe crimes about to happen or already in progress.”
In Ontario, The London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) and the Ontario Provincial Police have launched Realty Watch.
“Realty Watch is a concrete way Realtors can help improve the quality of life in our community,” says Jack Lane, LSTAR president. “In the course of doing our business, we’re out and about in neighbourhoods at all times of the day and night; provided we know what to look for, we might be able to provide useful information to the police, and that’s what Realty Watch is all about. As for the alerts, the broader the net the police can cast, the more likely we are to find people in trouble before it’s too late.”
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