It’s “normal” for Kelowna residents to feel the city is becoming more unsafe even though the crime rate is dropping, city councillors heard this week.

Attempts were made at Monday’s meeting to explain the apparent disconnect between perceptions of crime and the statistical evidence. And council heard the 2026 budget will again boost spending for police and bylaw services.

“The personal experience and the emotions of people are an important part of this whole process,” community safety manager Kevin Duggan told council.

“Even if the stats show a decline in numbers, perceptions can go the other direction,” Duggan said. “In fact, that’s actually normal.”

Duggan said he looked at studies in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K, and found similarly diverging trend lines. Key reasons, he said, coul

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