EYES ON CRIME

Const. Josh Mohanraj looks at a beautifully treed landscape surrounding an
apartment complex and sees trouble where others might see serenity.

Trees, bushes and hedges may be dominant features in West Coast
landscaping, but they also serve as useful concealment for those interested
in committing crimes, says Mohanraj, a neighbourhood liaison officer
serving the Lougheed Mall area.

Driving around in his RCMP squad car, he points out numerous multi-family
complexes where the properties are in need of tree trimming, hedge pruning
or bush whacking. For example, on the west side of Cameron Road elementary
school, a long hedge towering more than 25 feet serves as perfect
camouflage for those interested in stealing cars, robbing individuals or
breaking and entering.

The hedge needs to be trimmed down so local apartment owners on the west
side can peer over to the other side. At the base of the hedge it should be
trimmed up three feet so one could see if there's someone standing on the
other side. Finally, the bushes must be thinned so people can see through it.

"I've already talked to the strata council about this and they haven't done
anything yet so I guess we'll have to talk again," says Mohanraj. He turns
his squad car around in the school's parking lot, which borders the giant
hedge. At night, apartment residents use the lot for parking. "If there
were to be auto theft at night, this is a place where it would likely occur."

So just why has Mohanraj, the Lougheed Community Police Office and the
Burnaby RCMP become so particular about the height of hedges, the thickness
of bushes and other landscape matters?

Because SkyTrain is coming.

With SkyTrain comes the potential for crime.

Criminals like the transit system because it allows them transportation
throughout the region. They can hop off a SkyTrain car, commit a crime and
be back on the line in less than an hour.

Stations are also ideal locations for selling drugs and other contraband.
Like a successful hotdog vendor, drug dealers make more money in high
traffic areas.

Those living in the vicinity of the Metrotown SkyTrain station three years
ago know all about the correlation between SkyTrain and crime. Residents
couldn't walk to the station without being accosted by half a dozen drug
dealers selling crack cocaine. Users also flocked to the neighbourhood.
Drug deals were often made in people's yards and it wasn't uncommon to
witness a user getting high. When users couldn't afford a $10 rock of crack
cocaine, they would either shoplift in the Metrotown Mall or commit break
and enters in the neighbourhood to make a quick buck.

Gary Wesa, the BlockWatch captain for the Metrotown neighbourhood in 1999,
told the NewsLeader three year ago it was like being under siege. No matter
what police and residents did, drug dealers and users keep coming back.
"Sometimes it feels like a war zone," he said at the time.

Today there still is the odd drug dealer around the Metrotown station but
their numbers are a fraction of what they once were. What's made a
difference are the residents, RCMP, City of Burnaby and other agencies
teaming up to drive the users and dealers away.

The Expo line, with three stops in Burnaby, did not go through the rigors
of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED), says Mohanraj.
Station security was an afterthought. Nearby neighbourhoods were not
consulted on crime prevention issues to the extent they are today.

As a result, police and residents were forced to react to the crime
problem. There was very little proactive planning prior to the Expo line
completion. Things are different for the Millennium line.

It will be well staffed with SkyTrain security when it opens Aug. 31. In
addition, RCMP will have a heightened presence. Security from both Lougheed
and Brentwood malls will also be on the ready.

The plan behind all this law enforcement and security is to make sure
potential criminals don't feel welcome in the area when the line first
opens up. Special projects will be carried out promptly if police detect
certain types of crime are more prevalent.

SkyTrain has the potential to bring crime in to an area, says Mohanraj, who
specializes in CPTED. Crime can be vastly decreased around a station if the
neighbourhood and local businesses takes preventative action, like
eliminating concealment areas, getting rid of graffiti quickly, cautioning
local youth about hanging around stations and everyone keeping a watchful
eye out for strangers.

Mohanraj calls it "taking ownership" where the community gets involved in
it's own community policing. After all, he says, the RCMP can't do everything.

"We've got limited manpower. We're doing drugs (enforcement), plain-clothes
investigation and a lot of other things, plus community policing. That's
why the community has to take ownership," he says.

In the local schools, students are told to keep away from stations unless
they're traveling on SkyTrain. School administration and police do not want
the platforms to become hangouts.

One officer at the Lougheed Mall community police office has been assigned
the task of graffiti removal. He works on educating businesses on the
"broken window theory." That is, if a window is broken or graffiti is put
up at your business, it must be fixed or removed right away. Not doing so
invites more vandalism.

Residents near the station are now being asked to challenge strangers. "If
they see someone they don't recognize, that they've never seen before, we
want them to ask them what they're doing here, says Mohanraj.

BlockWatch membership has dramatically increased on Horne Street, located
to the south of the Lougheed SkyTrain station. "The feeling is that
criminals are just going to use SkyTrain to get around," said BlockWatch
captain Annemarie Budau. "By joining they feel a sense of community, that
everyone is looking out for each other."

In Budau's strata building they've made a number of changes to increase
security. Many blind spots behind shrubbery have been reduced or
eliminated, lighting has increased in specific areas, and tenants on the
ground floor have been given tips on security.

"People that are worried about SkyTrain are also welcoming it too. But it's
a double-edged sword. It's important for us to try and make a difference
together," says Buda.

"Everyone is hoping that by getting involved and doing something we won't
have the same levels of crime they had when there was a problem at Metrotown."