RCMP: DRUGS TAKE OVER CITY PARK

People living around Linwood Park want the police to do something about the
active drug trade in their neighbourhood.

Drug dealers and users have taken over a Langley City park - and the
residents want it back.

A 146-signature petition calling for a RCMP bike patrol of Linwood Park has
been given to Langley City Council and the RCMP.

A growing number of youth are using drugs in the park, intimidating
residents and making it unsafe for children, said residents from 56th Ave.
and Michaud Cres., between 200th and 201A Streets.

Residents have seen drug deals go down, and youth taking drugs into the
washrooms.

"They're smoking up and trading up with kids around," said one man. "It's a
real blight on the neighbourhood."

Concerned for their safety, residents contacted by the Langley Advance News
agreed to talk only under condition of anonymity.

Residents have witnessed money and packages exchanging hands, have found
syringes in the area surrounding the park, and know of at least one
resident who was threatened by a group of youth when she asked them to take
their dope elsewhere.

Homeless people are sleeping in the park and under the balconies of some of
the apartment buildings, residents said.

"You'd have to be blind not to see it," another resident said of the drug
activity.

Families can no longer picnic in the park, she said: "There's always a gang
there."

She and others said they'd like to see more police in the area, but she
recognizes also that the police's hands "are really tied."

"The law has to change," she said, to keep drug dealers in jail.

Youth go into the park's washrooms and are "pretty much in there for
hours," said another resident, who fears saying anything to those hanging
around in the park, for fear of repercussions: "You don't know how their
minds work."

"A meeting with the police would be great, because we'd all be more aware
of how we can help," she added.

Langley RCMP spokesman Dale Carr said the police have the residents'
petition, and said the area is "very well known to police."

Police are reviewing enforcement priorities, he said, noting, "The Linwood
Park area is one of those priorities."

Carr explained the bike squad only runs from April to October, on a
rotating basis, throughout Langley.

"When it's the City CPO's turn to have them [the cyclist officers], they
are in and around that area," Carr said.

Carr added the police "relish" the support of the community.

"They've stood up and said, 'We're tired of this, and we want to help the
police,'" he said.

Citizens are the watchful eyes and ears for the police and provide the RCMP
with valuable information, Carr explained.

A City Councillor, recently critical of the RCMP, also commended the residents.

"For myself, I'm getting so tired of talking to the RCMP about these
issues," said Councillor Ted Schaffer, who encouraged people to write
Langley RCMP Superintendent Cliff MacDonald directly.

Schaffer has questioned the police's efforts in curbing speeding in the City.

Carr said RCMP are listening to the public.

"Our officers express a lot of concern of what's going on in the community.
I do believe we're working as hard as we can, and are using our resources
as best we can," Carr said. "We've got a lot of very young, eager 'we want
to get to the bottom of this' type of constables."

Meantime, the City has asked Telus to remove a pay phone on 56th Ave., near
203rd St., to try to curb drug dealing.

"We have received a number of observations from the community that the
phone appears to be used for unsavory activities," said City Manager Cliff
Gittens.