SAFETY SOLUTIONS SOUGHT

While some might think of the area around Burnaby Mountain secondary
as a quiet residential hideaway, Emma Suen would be quick to correct
them.

Suen is concerned about noise, traffic and, most of all, illegal
activities in her neighbourhood.

"A known drug dealer lives in our townhouse complex. The drug dealing
is happening right under our nose," she said at the North Burnaby
public safety forum, which drew a crowd of more than 100 people to
Alpha secondary on Wednesday night.

In the past year she has noticed an increase in traffic, with cars and
trucks constantly sitting in a no-parking zone at the end of Eastlake
Drive.

"Sometimes you see people inside the cars as though they're waiting
for something. They drive high speed into the area and once they're
done their business, they speed off. We have these problems
consistently in the area. You don't know what it's going to develop
into. There might be a drug shooting," said Suen, the Block Watch
captain for her neighbourhood.

The location is right on the pathway of the urban trail, she said,
which puts dog walkers and families at risk.

Suen said the drug and alcohol activity carries over into Eastlake
Park, which becomes a noisy weekend party destination. She said the
area is often strewn with broken bottles and damaged park property.

"When I first moved in I was happy to see the parks, but it just
turned into a young people's party. There's a lot of vandalism in the
park. I've been really disgusted," she said at the open-house event.

Supt. Rick Taylor said these problems might be caused by prolific
offenders already known to police, but RCMP rely on tips from people
like Suen to push investigations forward.

"We want and need you to report even the smallest crime. We need that
information," he said, adding that many repeat offenders commit crimes
to feed drug and alcohol addictions.

"You have my personal commitment that we'll work tirelessly beside
each and every one of you to keep our community safe."

Mayor Derek Corrigan said he believes in compulsory treatment for
criminals with addictions problems. Without dealing with the root of
the problem, he said people will continue to commit the same crimes
over and over.

"One of the ways we can operate effectively in our community is to ask
for your help, to get you to be the eyes and ears of our community,"
said Corrigan, adding the city has increased staff to patrol public
parks.

At the forum, Taylor also addressed the concern some residents have
had trouble reporting crimes through the dispatch centre.

He said RCMP are working hard to improve accessibility and are
considering an interactive website to give residents another way to
report crimes.

Based on the success of the North and South Burnaby safety meetings,
they are slated to become annual events.