Rally for Change in Surrey draws hundreds of people
Posted September 28, 2014 5:45 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SURREY (NEWS1130) – Hundreds are demanding change in Surrey.
A large auditorium was packed at the Newton Seniors’ Centre, many holding signs expressing frustration and fear.
This Port Kells woman, Vicky, says her family’s home was burglarized and burned down by crack addicts in 2012 and they lost everything.
“We want our mayor to help finance RCMP resources a little deeper. When there’s only three officers on any shift at one time, patrolling from the border up to the Fraser River and through Surrey, that’s not enough.”
She also wants to see improved bylaw enforcement. “When there’s crack house occupied by people who probably need some help, or the house should be torn down, we want the bylaws enforced so the owners of the crack houses are held accountable.”
Surrey-Newton MLA Harry Bains says people are being ignored. “People make phone calls to police and they have no resources to come and respond to it. People see drug dealing going on, no one shows up. People have basically given up calling police because they know that they will not show up.”
He says the City of Surrey is growing rapidly but resources are falling behind. “When you are that large, you bring the problems of a big city, but we’re not prepared.”
Surrey RCMP says they’re working around the clock to keep people safe and that the Newton detachment is one of its busiest.
