CRIME-FIGHTING ELECTION ISSUE: PUNISHMENT OR PREVENTION?

Crime-fighting is a top priority for each of the federal election
candidates running in the Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon riding.

But each differ on how they would tackle the issue.

City of Chilliwack officials - and the RCMP - have both complained
about the lack of resources to fight back against crime here.

But Conservative candidate Mark Strahl points out that it's the
provincial government that decides how much federal funding goes to
B.C. municipalities, and negotiates the contract with the RCMP for
police services.

"Our job is more on the recruitment side," he said, about the federal
government's role.

He said the Conservative government created a $400-million
recruitment fund in the last budget to add 2,500 front-line police
officers, but the fund died when the budget was defeated by the opposition.

The Conservative government's crime-fighting strategy is to make sure
crime doesn't pay, by toughening up Canada's laws, and the sentences
meted out by courts.

"It's important that when people commit criminal acts that there are
significant penalties for that," Strahl said.

But he said a majority government is needed to get the "crack-down on
crime" legislation passed over the opposition in parliament.

"We're tired of waiting for the opposition to get on board," he said.

Liberal candidate Diane Janzen, a Chilliwack city councillor before
she resigned to run for the federal election, said Chilliwack is
paying 90 per cent of the bill for policing. Only 10 per cent is paid
by the federal government.

"We (city council) don't even sit at the table when people are
carving up the resources," she said, referring to contract
negotiations between the province and the RCMP.

If elected MP, Janzen said she would fight to give the city more
authority to crack down on the drugs that are behind most of the home
and business break-ins in Chilliwack.

"That's the major issue we have here," she said.

But the city has no authority to shut down marijuana grow-ops
masquerading as legally-approved medical grows, or stop the
"outrageous" sale of drug paraphernalia in corner stores like crack
pipes that lure young people into drug use, she said.

"I think we need to start empowering the city to come down on people
flying in the face of the law," she said.

Under Health Canada legislation, medical grow-ops are supposed to be
inspected, but Janzen said city council is "not confident at all"
those inspections are happening, allowing illegal grow-ops to flourish.

New Democratic candidate Gwen O'Mahony said while the Conservative
government focusses on harsher penalties and mega-prisons, "we'd like
to spend the money on policing and prevention."

She said the NDP is committed to doubling the $400-million police
officer recruitment fund, and to cut the "paper burden" on police
officers, so they can spend more time on the streets fighting crime.

"We want to increase policing," she said.

Green Party candidate Jamie Hoskin said his party wants to ensure
there are "adequate" police officers to make the community safe.

But instead of "throwing more money into policing" the Greens would
put more funds into eliminating the root causes of crime, poverty,
drug addiction and mental illness.

"The real issue in this riding right now is jobs and access to
education," he said.

Without a job or the education to get that job, crime is sometimes a
"tempting alternative," he said.

"$10.25 an hour (B.C.'s new minimum wage) is not enough to live on," he said.