NEW TASK FORCE WELCOME CRIME FIGHTING TOOL

Crime Is About to Take a Big Hit in Abbotsford, If the New Task Force
on Crime and Public Safety Does the Work That We Expect It Will.

Police always do what they can, but political will is also an
important part of the picture. If Mayor Rudolph Guliani was able to
clean up the cesspool that was once New York city, then our local
crime fighter, councillor John Smith, should be able to spearhead a
cleanup of Abbotsford.

Young children are endangered by used needles left in play areas.
Pre-teens have been mistaken for prostitutes and harassed in some
areas of Abbotsford in broad daylight. Finally, residents and
business owners began to demand some action. Smith has responded.

City hall has put together a task force which will tackle crime and
public safety issues. The committee was Smith's concept, and Surrey
Mayor Dianne Watts is apparently his inspiration. Watts visited the
UK, and was impressed by some of the crime reduction efforts that
have made English streets safe. Those include the use of video
surveillance in public areas, and laws which give authorities more
power to try and get drug addicts to "get clean."

Smith said it is now time for Abbotsford council to show leadership
on the issue of crime. Politicians and city hall bureaucrats will be
necessary for measures such as instituting more bike patrols for
Abbotsford, or shutting down some of the unregulated recovery houses
that have become little more than drug dens themselves.

But it is also encouraging that residents and business owners are
ready to become involved. They are simply fed up.

Simple measures, like having volunteers who will record the licence
plates of suspicious vehicles, or who will "take back" the city by
simply being a presence in areas where crime takes place, can have a
dramatic effect on criminal activity.

Of course the police are on the front lines, and citizens must not
endanger themselves by personally confronting those committing
criminal acts. But the groundswell of desire to clean up Abbotsford's
streets in a welcome sign that will surely yield results.