MURDER RATE GROWS WITH VALLEY CITIES

Murder rates in two fast-growing Fraser Valley communities -- Abbotsford
and Mission -- have surpassed those in Vancouver and Surrey.

In the past year, the two communities have recorded a total of 10
homicides, giving Mission one killing for every 6,600 people and Abbotsford
one killing for every 24,952 citizens.

Vancouver is the next highest, with one killing for every 32,941 people.
There have been 17 homicides in Vancouver so far this year and three in Surrey.

Four of the five homicides in Abbotsford were drug-related.

"It's not the staid rural community that it once was, 20, 30 or even 40
years ago," said Abbotsford Const. Shinder Kirk.

"Right now we are rapidly growing in terms of the number of people we're
getting. Certainly that does draw people that aren't model citizens."

Abbotsford has also seen eight attempted homicides in the past year, most
of them drug-related. There are an estimated 500 to 1,000 marijuana
grow-ops in Abbotsford, with 50 grow-ops busted so far this year.

Kirk said young people need to realize that there are consequences to drug
trafficking.

"They may see this as a way of making money very quickly, and certainly it
is lucrative. On the other hand, the drug trade is extremely violent. You
can never predict when that violence is going to visit upon you."

In Mission, three of the five homicides involved domestic violence, but
RCMP Staff-Sgt. Jack Robinson had no explanation.

"Is it because it's a growing community? Your guess is as good as mine,"
Robinson said.

Mission Mayor Abe Neufeld said the murder rate concerns him but added that
of the five reported murders in 2002, only one was in Mission proper.

"I think we have a safe community, but nevertheless we've had tragic events
within families that have occurred," Neufeld said.