NEIGHBOURS ARE FIGHTING BACK

Matt White has seen his south Burnaby neighbourhood go from bad to worse in
the seven months he's lived there.

"(We) came in February. It was chilly and raining and everything was pretty
sedate and quiet," he says. "It seemed fine. It didn't seem that bad, but
it's deteriorated."

White, originally a Vancouverite, wasn't familiar with his new area's bad
reputation, but his co-workers at City TV were and joked around about it.
Now he knows why.

"It's never a dull moment around here," he says, admitting that people from
E-Comm, the emergency dispatcher that responds to 911 calls, know him by
name. White explains how residents have to shoo prostitutes out of their
driveways in order to leave their homes and how there's so much drug
dealing in the park, he's afraid to let his five-year-old out to play.

There's also a "brazen" drug dealer whose clients drive into the community
and park while he conducts his business, White explains.

"(He) threw a plastic baggy with a white marble in it, and walked way with
cash," White says, adding that he witnessed the dealer instruct his client
to linger after the deal so it looks more natural to police.

White adds that he can pinpoint at least three brothels on his street. The
pinnacle of it all came only recently when he witnessed several prostitutes
sitting on an RCMP car, drinking beer, while the officers were off dealing
with another matter.

"I've been told that the only thing they can get them (the prostitutes) on
is loitering, and that's just completely ridiculous," he said.

"The situation has just gotten completely out of control. ...It's
maddening. I've run the gamut from declaring, 'That's it, we're moving,' to
'That's not fair,' to basically, using it as a rally point with neighbours."

White and about 10 of his neighbours are so fed up that they've been
finding ways to take back their neighbourhood - a makeshift Block Watch.
Everyone handles things in their own way, White says. Some have vowed to
call police at the hint of anything suspicious, while others are slightly
more gruff. "I'm a little more in their face - probably not the smartest
move in the world, but I can't help it when they're right in front of (my)
house," says White. "We're just watching each other's backs at this point
and trying to send the message that they're not wanted," he said. "However,
with what we are doing comes the question, why aren't others doing anything?"

Some of the neighbours seem to be passive and are "going with the flow," he
notes.

White says he's concerned that his neverending phone calls to police are
futile.

"I'm kind of soured, I've got to be honest, with police procedure," he
said, adding that it seems to him as though the crime is out of their
handling capabilities. However, police say they are doing everything they can.

"I can certainly understand their frustration," said Burnaby RCMP Const.
Phil Reid.

"In the past, (the area) does have a history. We are certainly well aware
of it," he said. "We're doing everything we can with respect to that crime,
but it seems to continue when the warm months come and that is the summer."

Reid says the RCMP has operations for prostitution and drug trafficking,
but sometimes it comes down to showing a police presence and keeping the
seedy characters on their toes.

"I hate to hear that they have to form their own group. We certainly like
to work in partnership with (residents)," he said. "We certainly wouldn't
discourage them from doing that and, if we can help them in any way we can,
we will."

Reid also encourages the residents to call either 911 or their community
police station if they see anything suspicious.

Julie McNamee, manager of the southeast community police station, says
citizens can do their part by watching for specific times of day and
certain locations at which the criminal activity takes place.

"Every little bit helps," she said.

The station has 15 volunteers who patrol on foot and bike, and three
officers who follow up with calls. McNamee says patrol routes can be
switched if neighbours notify them of certain problems.

White's neighbour, Moira Fentum, has been living in the Edmonds area on and
off for five years and has phoned police on numerous occasions for
everything from nearby brawls to her pizza delivery man getting mugged.

"The police do know of all the different places and I think they're just
waiting for some way they can get in there," she said.

Though the criminal activity has never directly affected her, she does
notice a deterioration in the neighbourhood.

"The people living in the neighbourhood seem to have changed," she says,
noting the problems used to come from "eccentric" and "unbalanced"
characters. Now, she says, there's definitely a more dangerous element on
the street.