CRIME FORUM HERE MONDAY NIGHT

To ease the fears of Abbotsford residents following recent gang
violence, and to get some dialogue going between the city, police and
community, there will be a crime forum held in the city on Monday.

Abbotsford Mayor George Peary announced the meeting at the city
council meeting earlier this week and it is set to take place at
Matsqui Centennial Auditorium (32315 South Fraser Way), starting at 7
p.m.

The first shooting last week, the gunfire happened at one of
Abbotsford's major intersections, Sumas Way and South Fraser Way,
during rush hour.

Later in the week, police found a man bound and bleeding in a
driveway. The victim had been shot, in what police have said, looks
like a marijuana grow-op that went wrong.

"Our community has reacted in horror," said Peary, at the meeting. "We
want to send a message to the tiny criminal element in Abbotsford that
we intend to stand up."

The forum will include a presentation from Abbotsford Police Chief
Constable Bob Rich.

Peary intended to bring this issue to the community later in the year,
but said the shooting events of last week prompted him to hold the
forum and move the date up on forming the task force.

Rich said it is a good opportunity to share the police department's
vision with Abbotsford residents.

"We were looking for a chance to talk about where the Abbotsford
Police department thinks we should be headed," Rich said. "We are
going to talk briefly about a new mission for the Abbotsford Police,
which is to make Abbotsford the safest city in B.C."

Among the issues that the department set out to tackle after Rich's
appointment last summer, were gang crime, property crime and traffic
safety.

"We are taking a lot of steps to try to reduce the gang crime and the
violence that is coming out of it."

At the forum, Rich said he will share some of the strategies they have
planned to tackle the problem, while some strategies, in the interest
of police discretion, cannot be revealed.

When it comes to gang crime, the problem is not exclusive to
Abbotsford. "It's not just Abbotsford's problem and it's not going to
go away in 15 minutes either," said the chief.

The daytime shooting last week touched a nerve with everybody, said
Rich.

"The biggest difference is bullets flying in the daytime in a busy
intersection. The thing that we are all worried about is what happens
when it's an innocent person standing there, a child standing there
that gets hit," he said. "When these people are targeting each other
they are just so careless about what's going on."

In developing a crime reduction strategy, Abbotsford may adopt a few
measures taken by Surrey, which developed its own crime reduction
program in the last few years.

In fact, Peary said he has been in touch with Surrey Mayor Diane
Watts, and hopes to have her and City of Surrey staff talk to the task
force once it's formed, he said.

Meanwhile, the mayor already has a few ideas that relate to prevention
and citizen engagement.