BC ADDS 168 OFFICERS TO GANG FIGHT

Premier Says Decision Will Almost Double Organized-Crime Deployment,
Will Cost $69 Million Over 3 Years

The B.C. government has declared war on B.C. gangs by adding 168 new
police specialists and 10 extra prosecutors to combat the rampant
gunplay played out almost daily on Metro Vancouver streets.

And Premier Gordon Campbell said Friday two new 16-member anti-gang
units will be dispatched to Kelowna and Prince George to deal with
gangsters who have moved into those communities and set up shop.

Campbell said the new police resources will almost double the number
of officers dedicated to battling organized crime in B.C. to 368 at a
cost of $69 million over three years.

Lower Mainland mayors, police chiefs and families of gang victims
gathered in an RCMP gym to hear the government's new seven-point
strategy in response to brazen public shootings in recent weeks in
mall parking lots and busy intersections.

Campbell said the infusion of resources would go to specialized
organized crime units such as the Combined Forces Special Enforcement
Unit, the B.C. Integrated Gang Task Force, the Outlaw Motorcycle Gang
Unit and the Organized Crime Agency.

"It is clear from what has taken place over the last couple of days
that we need to do more and we will," Campbell said.

"Once those new police officers arrest the criminals, we need to
prosecute them and put them behind bars."

He promised to spend another $185 million to build 304 new jail cells
in Burnaby, Maple Ridge and Prince George, with the capacity to house
600 more inmates.

"We are going to make sure we have the jail capacity necessary to
ensure that no criminals or suspects are released due to space
pressures in our corrections system," he said.

Campbell pledged to work with the federal government to "to toughen
the criminal code to get and keep criminals off the street.

"We need to make it much more difficult for those accused of gun cases
to get bail," Campbell said. "We'll need to eliminate the two-for-one
credit for time served while awaiting trial."

He also promised to make it illegal for gangsters to drive around in
armoured vehicles and said he would restrict the sale of body armour
to those without criminal records.

"More and more gang members are protecting themselves with armoured
vehicles and body armour and they use those tools to take their war to
the streets," he said.

Solicitor General John van Dongen kicked off the announcement in an
RCMP gym at E-Division headquarters, which almost seemed like a
political rally with applause throughout.

"No more gangs. No more guns. No more innocent victims," van Dongen
said.

Van Dongen said the innocent victims of the October 2007 highrise
massacre -- Ed Schellenberg and Chris Mohan -- inspired him to act.

Mohan's parents Eileen and Sunil were on hand for the
event.

Eileen praised the measures as a step in the right direction, but said
parents and families must also be held to account for their gangster
offspring.

"I blame the parents for accommodating their children," she said.
"Their parents are cowards."

Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts, who has seen gang murders in her city this
year, praised the infusion of resources, but said an independent
overseer should be appointed to follow the money as it is handed out.

"This is exactly what we have been hoping for in the last number of
years -- a coordinated effort from all levels of government," Watts
said. "We have seen the gang violence playing out on our streets."

Abbotsford Mayor George Peary, who hosted a public forum Feb. 2 on
gang violence in his city, also welcomed the plan.

"The police will have a lot more resources now," Peary said.
"Certainly this is going to mean a lot more police on the streets in
Abbotsford."

Attorney-General Wally Oppal, who just last week said the streets are
safe, called the shootings "an unparalleled wave of violence.

"There will be a collaborative approach to this problem," he said,
describing how he is off to Ottawa to push for legislative changes to
bail provisions, as well as electronic surveillance laws that would
make it easier to get wiretaps for gangsters' cell phones and
Blackberries.

RCMP Deputy Commissioner Gary Bass said there has to be a
"multi-faceted, coordinated approach with a properly functioning
criminal justice system.

"These criminals are resorting to unprecedented levels of violence in
places that put the public at extreme risk. We will not allow this to
continue and we have been attacking the issue head on," Bass said.

Bass said the additional prosecutors will provide "immediate relief
and ensure continuity from street-level police enforcement through to
the court system."

But he said there must also be longer-term measures involving criminal
code changes.

"Today's announcement demonstrates the shared commitment by all
branches of the criminal justice system to put an end to violence in
our streets," Bass said.

"This is not just a problem for the police to solve in isolation. It
is a problem for our entire community to take on."

Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu said law enforcement is doing
everything it can, but the courts have to do their part too.

"I want to assure the public the police will be arresting and charging
gang members," Chu said. "The public should hold all parts of the
system accountable."

NDP leader Carole James criticized the timing of the announcement,
saying Campbell has ignored gang violence for years.

"Now that the premier is getting heat from the public and with the
election just three months away, he has suddenly woken up to the
problem. Gordon Campbell and Wally Oppal failed to act for years. Why
should they be trusted now?" James asked.

She also said Campbell is not being up front about whether other areas
of policing will be sacrificed for his plan.

"At this stage, I expect new and dedicated police resources to combat
gang activity. And it must be reflected in next week's budget," James
said.

Campbell said his government would increase money for anti-gang
education in schools, as well as creating a gang hotline for tipsters
to provide information to police. Increased rewards will also be
offered, he said.

"These are significant investments. They are serious steps to stopping
the gang violence in our streets because British Columbians are
serving notice to gangs -- you are not welcome in our province.

"You are not welcome in our streets, in our neighbourhoods, in our
communities or anywhere in British Columbia."

SIX-POINT ACTION PLAN

The B.C. government plans action to take illegal guns off the street
by:

- - Creating a 10-member "weapons enforcement unit" dedicated to seizing
illegal firearms.

- - Providing additional powers for the chief firearms officer and
taking over responsibility for the federal firearms program in B.C.

- - Doing more rigorous inspections and security standards for gun
dealers and their stores.

- - Increasing licensing security rules for "prop masters," including
reducing and limiting the number of authorized suppliers.

- - Shutting down weapons retailers and prop masters who fail to secure
their facilities against break-ins and are unable to account for lost
or stolen firearms due to negligence.

- - Requiring all health facilities to report treatment of any patients
with gunshot wounds.