SURREY TAKES DEAD AIM AT CRIME

Television Cameras To Be Installed In High-Crime Areas Such As
Shopping Centres

Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts unveiled an ambitious crime reduction
strategy Monday that will incorporate measures used by British and
U.S. authorities to reduce crime in areas plagued by property crime,
violence, drug addiction and prostitution.

"It's an approach that seeks to incorporate all the key stakeholders
and create one unified, comprehensive plan," she said of the 106
recommendations that make up the package.

Among the measures announced are:

- - Plans to install closed circuit TV cameras in high crime areas,
mostly shopping centres.

- - A crime reduction website in English, Punjabi and Chinese that will
inform the community what programs are available and allow them to
receive advice.

- - Establishment of an $8.4 million non-profit foundation to provide
funding for homelessness and housing programs.

- - A target of 300 shelter beds for the homeless by
2008.

- - Establishment of community drug action teams to assist persons
living on the street (the homeless, sex trade workers, runaways, drug
addicts and at-risk youth) find access to social support and medical
services.

- - Establishment of a prolific offender management team that will
follow an offender through the criminal justice system to assess and
address the factors that caused the offender to commit crime.

- - Work on creating a model for a community court system.

- - Focus on problem-solving court sentences for juvenile and adult
offenders.

- - A community justice resource team that would be available to the
court to recommend appropriate treatment processes for offenders.

- - An accreditation program for recovery centres to ensure persons
placed there by the courts would receive effective treatment.

Watts made the announcement at Surrey RCMP headquarters flanked by
Attorney-General Wally Oppal, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Al Macintyre
of E Division, Surrey RCMP Chief Supt. Fraser MacRae and local MPs and
MLAs.

Watts and Oppal said it is time to start dealing with the causes of
crime, and the present system is failing.

"The criminal justice system is no place for the sex-trade worker, the
homeless, the mentally ill or the addicted," Watts said.

Oppal, who said Surrey's crime reduction strategy is fully endorsed by
the provincial government, said the problem with the existing criminal
justice system is that its components operate in isolation.

"We operate in silos. The police are independent, the Crown is
independent, the courts are independent, the lawyers. We need a
complete shift in philosophy. We can't keep doing business the way
it's been done in the past. The world has changed," he said.

"Over 80 per cent of property crimes are being committed by less than
10 per cent of people. These are either addicted to drugs or alcohol,
homeless or suffering from mental illness," said Oppal.

"What do we do about that? Do we keep sending these people to jail
until they become chronic offenders and part of the revolving door? We
know that doesn't work. The public is dissatisfied and crime is still
being committed.

"I commend the mayor and the City of Surrey for what they are doing.
This is an integrated approach. We can no longer just deal with the
symptoms of crime. We need to deal with its root causes," said Oppal.

Although the plan calls for a community court for Surrey, the
attorney-general said that would not be created any time soon.

Oppal said the government is working on establishing the first
community court in Vancouver and wants to see how it works there first.

Watts said Surrey's population is approaching 420,000 and there is
increasing homelessness, drug addiction and crime.

"The relationship between crime and drug addiction is complex and
undeniably we must deal with both together. We have seen prolific
offenders returned to the community time and time again with virtually
no consequence to their actions," she said.

Watts said it was the "sheer frustration of trying to deal with these
issues" that led Surrey to look at other countries to see how such
problems are being dealt with.

She said programs in Britain reduced crime rates by 44 per cent in
some places while in New York there was a 56-per-cent reduction in
on-street prostitution in midtown Manhattan.

Surrey has already implemented some parts of the strategy and has
hired a homelessness outreach worker who has already placed 60 persons
in permanent housing in six months, said Watts.

RCMP teams began targeting prolific offenders in 2006 and arrested 360
individuals.

"We had great results. In 2006 auto theft was down by 22 [per cent]
and business break and enters in Whalley were down by 45 per cent,"
said Watts.

"By incorporating the recommendations of the crime reduction strategy
we will be able to make an even larger reduction in crime," she said.

TARGETING CRIME

Surrey's new crime reduction strategy is based on four
'strands.'

The strands:

- - Prevent and deter crime

- - Apprehend and prosecute offenders

- - Rehabilitate and reintegrate offenders

- - Address fear of crime and promote feelings of safety.

The details:

Surrey hopes to implement these actions and more within the following
year:

- - Closed-circuit TV in high crime areas

- - Community drug action teams

- - Prolific offender management teams

- - Community action groups

- - Establish a homelessness and housing foundation

- - Work on a community court system

- - Work to make multi-unit housing safer

- - Multi-lingual website on crime

- - Seek private partners to build affordable housing

Source: City of Surrey

FIGHTING CRIME

- - Wally Oppal is B.C. attorney-general.

- - Oppal says a community court will be tried out in Vancouver
first.

- - He said B.C. fully endorses Surrey's crime reduction strategy and he
commended the mayor and city.