CITY TURNS UP HEAT ON HOOKERS

Surrey is calling out the cavalry to help drive drug dealers, hookers and
pimps from Surrey neighbourhoods.

Mayor Doug McCallum announced Monday money has been found in this year's
budget to pay the $400,000 tab for an extra dozen Mounties in addition to
eight officers just hired.

"We're hoping they'll start in late August, early September," he said.

"We're going to put all of them on the drug and prostitution areas of Surrey."

The city will also commit 20 RCMP auxiliaries, at a further cost of about
$40,000, to the task of cleaning up Surrey neighbourhoods.

Community groups from residential areas along King George Highway have been
putting pressure on city hall to push prostitutes out of their
neighbourhoods. Residents, who have organized a number of protest march
groups, say prostitution and other related crimes are ruining their lives.

"The real problem is the drug trade and we really need to go after the drug
problem. Prostitution is part of that," McCallum said.

As part of its anti-drug campaign, Surrey recently passed a bylaw making
landlords financially responsible for repaying the cost of taking down a
drug house in the city. At least two drug houses in the Green Timbers area
have been shut down recently, and residents there report a sharp decrease
in prostitution.

Things haven't improved in Newton, according to protest leader Linda Tylor.
She's glad the city is putting more cops on the problem, but left a meeting
Monday with representatives of the city, other levels of government, police
and social agencies feeling disappointed.

"We want bubble zones for two blocks around schools and the skate park on
King George, and we were looking for some action from the city dealing with
businesses that are making this worse. Like the motels," Tylor said.

Coun. Dianne Watts said the city is meeting with police and the school
district to decide how to set up and enforce bubble zones. Watts also said
council will summon motel owners to discuss what they can to eliminate
illegal activity on their premises.

"If someone's dealing drugs on their premises, they have a moral obligation
to call the RCMP," she said. "We know that's not happening and we want to
know why.

"But we can't go in there and say we're going to pull your (business)
licence because this guy over there is selling drugs."