GANG VIOLENCE DRIVES BODY COUNT

The spiral of gang violence is the primary factor driving the high
body count in Abbotsford, say the mayor and chief of police.

While not denying the gravity of the problem, they suggest new
statistics indicating Abbotsford-Mission per capita homicide rates are
the highest in Canada are somewhat deceiving.

However, both civic leaders agree six homicides in Abbotsford during
2008 is too many.

"The numbers are alarming. No question about it. Sadly it doesn't look
like our homicide rate will be much lower in 2009," said Mayor George
Peary.

Seven people have been murdered in Abbotsford this year alone, and
five of the deaths are believed gang-related.

Despite the violence, the mayor said the average citizen feels safe
living in Abbotsford.

"Absolutely, because they know these are not random killings. The
general population are not at risk."

Peary said the majority of the deaths are the result of gangs vying
for control of the drug trade.

"As tragic as [the deaths] are, these are young men who for the most
part willingly became involved in illicit activity and then were
targeted by rivals."

This was the rationale for Abbotsford Police Chief Bob Rich's recent
public plea to youth to stay away from the drug trade and the
establishment of a youth help line, said Peary.

Rich said the help line is just one step of many to address the
violence associated with the drug trade.

The number one priority in the police department's 2009 pledge to make
Abbotsford the safest city in B.C. is to suppress gang violence, said
Rich, who was appointed chief mid-way through 2008.

"I didn't walk in the door thinking it would be a cake walk. None of
us expected that we'd do a couple of quick things and [gang violence]
would disappear. The problem is years in the making and it will take
years to undo."

Rich said there has been some significant progress with the recent
arrests and sentencing of prominent gang members active in both the
Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver.

Red Scorpion gang members James Bacon and Dennis Karbovanec, both of
Abbotsford, are two of five men arrested for the brutal slayings of
six men in a Surrey highrise in 2007.

A number of UN gang leaders have been arrested in recent months for
trafficking drugs or conspiring to kill members associated with the
Bacons.

The Fraser Valley - and Abbotsford in particular - is where the UN
gang and the Bacon brothers, later allied with the Red Scorpions, rose
to prominence.

Why the Fraser Valley has bred so many gang members is a question Rich
asks himself almost every day.

"What made the Valley the petri dish in the last 10 years to allow
this gang violence? There's no definitive answer," he said.

Formerly there was less communication and information shared between
individual police departments and the recent pop culture veneration of
gangsters, he said.

His personal theory is that Abbotsford and other Valley communities
were formerly easy markets for making money in the drug trade.

"The drug industry, particularly grow operations, were initially
easily successful and that's drawn others into the market."

Violence and instability soon followed as competition increased.

There are three pillars to fighting gangs: enforcement, prevention,
and intervention.

The gang war crosses municipal boundaries and requires law enforcement
to respond at a provincial level.

What city gang members are killed in is often a matter of coincidence.
Where victims are tracked down and murdered by their enemies may or
may not be the location of their criminal activity.

The community of Abbotsford will have to step up to deal with the
recruitment of its youth into gangs.

"When it comes to prevention and intervention, Abbotsford has to be
responsible for its own community," said Rich.

Police are following groups of young men at risk of going sideways and
will go so far as to contact parents to get them involved and identify
resources to help them, said Rich.

"I am completely convinced the answer will lie in our ability as a
community to intervene with kids at risk of becoming gang members."

Peary said it was misleading to label Abbotsford a murder capital.

Statistics Canada measures homicides according to census metropolitian
areas (CMAs), which combine a number of communities and police forces,
he said.

This can adversely or positively affect a CMA's homicide rate.

"The actual number of homicides in Metro Vancouver and other urban
areas are quite high, but lumped in with other areas with no
homicides, they look better," said Peary.