CHILLIWACK MAKES 'MOST DANGEROUS' TOP 10 LIST

Chilliwack Mayor Sharon Gaetz implored the provincial government
Thursday to help fund a contact centre for drug users in light of a
Macleans' Magazine article that ranked Chilliwack as the "worst" in
Canada for break-and-enters.

"We've been working on this (contact centre) for a couple of years
now, but we haven't had a firm commitment from the provincial
government yet," Gaetz said on Thursday.

Break-and-enters are most often the result of drug users looking for
something to steal and then sell for money to feed their addictions.

Gaetz said the city has long acknowledged a problem with illegal
marijuana grow-ops since a 2002 study - and hiring more police
officers as a result.

"We put a lot of resources into policing in the City of Chilliwack,"
she said, and "we know we're going to be facing some significant costs
with the new (RCMP) contract that's coming forward."

"Obviously, we can't just keep hiring more police officers," she
said.

But a contact centre, with funding from the B.C. government, would
strike at the root of the problem - the drug addictions that fuel the
break-and-enters.

Policing costs currently make up the largest part of Chilliwack's
budget, nearly one-third the total.

The Macleans Magazine article said Chilliwack was "the worst" city for
break-and-enters at 104 percent above the national rate, which is 610
properties broken into per 100,000 population.

Two other B.C. cities, Burnaby and Prince George, were ranked third
and fourth respectively.

The magazine also ranked Chilliwack the ninth "most dangerous" in
Canada in terms of homicides, sexual assault and other crimes at 58
percent above the national crime score.

Prince George was ranked Canada's "most dangerous" city with 90
percent above the national crime rate, followed by Victoria in second
place with 81 percent, Kelowna in sixth place with 65 percent and
Surrey in eighth place with 60 percent.

Abbotsford was ranked the "most dangerous" city in terms of homicides
at a whopping 271 percent above the national rate of 1.8 murders per
100,000 population.