As calls from the public rise for a stronger police presence downtown, the RCMP says it's doing what it can.
Kelowna's Superintendent Brent Mundle was in front of council on Monday, presenting his quarterly update.
He says the numbers back it up, as drug charges are on the rise in Kelowna so far this year.
But he says a downtown drug project that netted 76 drug trafficking charges over two previous phases was successful this past weekend, too.
"Over this weekend we ran a small project over two days, which resulted in an additional 11 individuals charged with 17 offences," he said.
Mundle says part of the reasons drug crimes are up is that there's more officers investigating them, compared to previous years.
"During the course of that project, we seized 6.6 kg of fentanyl, 3.2 kg of methamphetamine, 2.25 kg of cocaine, approximately $150,000, several firearms, and 11 people were recommended for charges. That was an investigation targeting a specific group of individuals that were operating a drug line within the community," he said.
"We have examples of several other warrants that we've initiated, search warrants on residences during the course of this reporting period where we've seized significant amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, and multiple handguns and assault rifles."
RCMP officers assigned to downtown bike and foot patrols have become more frequent, especially with the hiring of more bylaw officers to partner on those assignments.
Mundle also acknowledged the financial burden of downtown businesses, saying officers have also noticed more private security officers on patrols as well.
Part of his message was to echo the conclusions of the city's Journey Home plan to end chronic homelessness, saying that law enforcement alone can't fix all of what's plaguing downtown.
"From a policing perspective, we're dealing with the same individuals with the same addictions, day after day. I think this is going to involve getting a number of agencies and health agencies involved, and addressing the root issues and the root causes. With respect to addiction, policing itself is not going to eradicate or change what we're seeing currently," he said.
"The criminality that we're seeing downtown, a lot of it is associated, in my opinion, to drug use and other things associated to how people get into that sitation to begin with. And I don't see us solving it."
However, Mundle says there will always be a fine line between coming down swiftly on crime, yet still being a resource for vulnerable people who need help.
He says there are many repeat offenders - and there's not a ton police can do about it.
"Unfortunately, through some of the systems that are currently available to us, they don't get incarcerated for long periods of time that remove them from the streets, so that is a difficulty that we have," he said.
"I think certainly we as a community need to determine what we deem as being acceptable here, and we have an opportunity to share that with our governments who assists in making those laws."
Property crimes have also gone up, with nearly 400 more in the first five months of this year, compared to the same time in 2017.
Mundle says thefts from vehicles has been a big issue for years, and continues to be, with 938 incidents reported up until the end of May.