SURREY CENTRAL 'SAFER' BUT DRUG DEALERS STILL MUCH IN EVIDENCE

Crime has drastically plunged at Metro Vancouver's "scariest" SkyTrain
station, according to the transit police 2008 annual report, released
Thursday.

Surrey Central Station, often perceived to be the most crime-riddled
transit hub, saw a 46-per-cent drop in incidents from 2007 to 2008.

"When I used to come down here, I saw violent stuff often," Jessica
Wells, 18, told The Province yesterday as she exited the station.

"When I pass by now, I don't see fights anymore, but there are still a
lot of junkies.

"I don't think the junkies will ever leave."

Overall, reported crime within 100 metres of a SkyTrain station was
down nearly four per cent last year, compared with 2007. The number of
crimes at stations plunged by more than 31 per cent.

The four stations making up the Surrey corridor accounted for 18 per
cent of the 36,424 incidents transit police attended last year.

Across the transit system, property crimes dropped 11 per cent,
personal crimes fell two per cent and provincial-statute violations
were down 23 per cent.

The overall crime decline is being credited to transit police Chief
Ward Clapham's 44-point safety plan, which has increased police
presence, changed SkyTrain's crimefighting focus and included upgrades
to the closed-circuit TV system.

But there have also been increases in incidents, with a 72-per-cent
increase in drug-related crimes and a 51-per-cent increase in
federal-statute violations.

The increase is due to a crackdown on drugs, including a 13-day
plain-clothes investigation that "broke the back" of Surrey Central's
dealings.

"The plainsclothes drug [unit] had a really big effect on the whole
crime statistics of the area because of all the connected crimes to
drug dealing," transit police spokesman Tom Seaman said.

"The work that they did there really drove a lot of stuff out of the
area."

The crackdown led to a total of 47 drug-related charges, in addition
to arrests on outstanding warrants, weapons offences and stolen property.

As a reporter spoke to commuters during yesterday's afternoon rush
hour, a man on a bicycle rode up to a man waiting near the bus loop,
to score drugs.

It's a problem that's waning but won't disappear overnight, Seaman
said.

But not everybody agrees.

"Personally speaking, I haven't seen a difference," Charles Constable,
53, said as he headed back to Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

"With September rolling around, it's a lot busier again and the drug
abuse is just horrendous."

Commuter Brenda McKenzie, 39, said part of the issue is the station's
proximity to the Surrey pretrial centre.

"The big problem is down in the bus loop," she said. "They come out of
the pretrial and you can tell which ones just came out of jail."

McKenzie's friend, 44-year-old Richard Scott, said police should spend
more time monitoring who boards illegally, to stop criminals from
using the transit system for their own profit.

But Atif Khan, 19, thinks whatever the police are currently doing is
working.

"I've seen the cops patrolling a lot more -- every two hours -- and
the transit police are working with them.

"It's made a huge difference, a huge impact. . . I feel much safer."

TRANSIT CRIME

2007-08

Against people 1,102 1,079

Against property 1,072 958

Other criminal acts 1,636 1,732

Drug crimes 619 1,064

Other federal 43 65

Provincial statutes 31,614 24,188

Other occurrences 7,301 7,295

Traffic violations 42 43

Total incidents 43,429 36,424

Annual change -16%

Source -- South Coast B.C. Transportation Authority