SURREY – With crime having become the number one election issue in Surrey, those running in the current civic election are jumping to get on aboard.
This week finally Linda Hepner and her Surrey First team introduced a plan that will cost $21-million over four years. But Hepner’s opponents are calling it too little too late.
Part of Surrey First’s strategy includes bringing in 147 police officers, with the first 100 introduced within a couple of years.
Linda Hepner says if she is elected, she would begin an aggressive recruitment campaign focusing on bringing in neighbourhood police officers. She is also calling for a new mental health facility and a specialized court that would be set up in the old city hall, reported News 1130.
Hepner’s plan would cost $21-million over four years and Hepner says it would be funded solely through growth, adding the City of Surrey rakes in as much as $6-million a year.
But Hepner’s opponent Barinder Rasode of One Surrey said residents of Surrey paid the price as Linda Hepner and Surrey First ignored the City’s growing crime problem and waited a year for another research report.
“Our residents didn’t need a new report to tell them Surrey has a crime problem. Their new study supports what we all know – the Surrey First crime reduction strategy is a complete failure,” says Rasode. “Surrey First knew the RCMP didn’t have enough resources, but chose to do nothing about it.”
Last year, there were a record number of homicides in Surrey, and this year attempted murder is up 600 per cent, vehicle thefts are up 45 per cent, sexual assaults are up 30 per cent, and property crime is up 27 per cent.
Rasode said she has been calling for more police for over a year, as have law enforcement professionals, including the Officer in Charge of the Surrey RCMP.
Rasode has released her own crime plan, which covers the recommendations included in Dr. Cohen’s report. She also brought aboard Canada’s longest-serving Chief of Police, Delta’s Jim Cessford, who helped draft Rasode’s plan, and she recruited former RCMP officer Merv Bayda and Vancouver Police Detective Kal Dosanjh to her One Surrey team – together they have 60 years of law enforcement experience.
“Linda Hepner and Surrey First have no credibility on solving the crime issue for the residents of surrey. They chose to deny there was a problem and ignored the dramatic rise in murders, assaults and violent crime. Now, one month before an election, they start talking about crime,” says Dosanjh. He adds, Dr. Cohen’s report supports the “no-call-too-small” strategy put forward by One Surrey.
“Unfortunately, Surrey residents now see what happens to a city when you don’t invest in public safety. It wasn’t a priority and money that should’ve gone into policing went elsewhere. Crime escalated because Surrey First refused to listen to residents and experts who told them their plan wasn’t working,” says Bayda, who served as an RCMP officer for over 35 years.
Surrey First’s plan calls for 52 new police officers and an emphasis on more neighbourhood policing.
“Adding more officers is key, but we also want to see more community policing, so that officers know the neighbourhoods, the businesses and the people who live there,” Hepner said.
“This $21 million plan will provide what our city and its residents and businesses are looking for, and place particular emphasis on neighbourhood policing,” said Hepner.
In addition, Surrey First proposes working with the provincial government to build a secure mental health facility in Surrey for individuals with mental health and addictions issues.
Surrey First is also calling for the establishment a new specialized court in Surrey. This would not necessarily be a community court, but would be based on the recommendations of an Attorney-General’s task force that is reviewing which kind of court is appropriate, and due to report back early next year.
