MORE COPS WILL HELP: COLEMAN

The additional 215 RCMP officers who will be hired for specialized
units will free up local Mounties' time to pound the beat, B.C.'s
solicitor-general told MetroValley News Group this week.

Rich Coleman said Tuesday the extra police officers will be deployed
to solve murders and other serious crimes in the Lower Mainland.
Coleman made the comments after Premier Gordon Campbell announced
Monday the province would spend an additional $122 million for
policing, corrections and courts over the next three years. "This
[money] allows us to be more aggressive as we go forward," Coleman
said.

Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan applauded the commitment by the province
and added it was long over due.

Crime fighting can not be entirely the role of individual
municipalities. Both the province and the federal government are
required to come to the table for policing to be effective. A portion
of crime is spontaneous and isolated to one area but an increasing
component of it is not bound by one city's borders. Organized crime
can not be beaten by local police, said Corrigan.

If anything, provincial and federal policing efforts must take the
lead fighting organized crime. A coordinated effort is required, he
said.

"We don't mind coming to the table with local resources" but the
federal and provincial governments must be there as well.

Part of the crime-fighting strategy also involves a new special
prosecution unit to work with police at the beginning of an
investigation rather than at the end to secure a better chance of
conviction, he said.

The added police resources will help local enforcement deal with
marijuana grow operations, which blanket Lower Mainland communities.
Coleman said he continues to press the federal government to toughen
legislation for people convicted of growing pot.

"We need the judicial system to step up to the plate," Coleman said.
"That's what communities want with regard to dealing with crime. It's
an ongoing issue and, certainly, it's something that everybody is
frustrated about - including myself."

Richard Stewart, MLA for Coquitlam-Maillardville, said he's pleased 14
more police will be hired to fight cyber crime and the spread of child
porn.

Last week, Stewart attended a District Parent Advisory Council lecture
on internet safety. "The frustration that we heard from parents was
immense," he said. "I've heard from a lot of parents in Coquitlam that
internet safety is something we're ignoring - not we, as a government
but we, as a society and as parents. There needs to be a co-ordinated
effort.

"I think this is a small step, but it's also a good
step."

Rejecting claims from the NDP the extra policing funding is an
election ploy, Coleman said it took time to "build a plan" with
policing agencies to hear what they need to crackdown on crime. "When
I first became the minister in 2001, I inherited what was not a
working relationship with the previous government," he said.

~ With additional reporting by Michael McQuillan.