Surrey unveils broad Public Safety Strategy

SURREY (NEWS 1130) – Youth programs, vulnerable people services, and prevention are the focus of a new Surrey Public Safety Strategy as the city unveils its latest attempt to curb crime and improve its image.

The broad sweeping initiative brings 34 new and existing services under a unified plan to address a wide array of issues from crime reduction to social issues like drug abuse, mental health, and drug abuse.

“I think the primary difference here (from previous Surrey strategies) is the integration of the existing programs that are happening throughout the city and making sure that our programs and inter-city departmental teams are aware of those and either adding to it and are complimentary to it or making sure the efficiencies that can be gained from partnerships in the community are escalated,” Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner says.

The strategy has four main priorities including preventing and reducing crime, supporting vulnerable people, building community capacity and ensuring safe places. The city also announced 10 new initiatives in a variety of areas.

The strategy, which was a year in the making, follows the hiring of Terry Waterhouse as the city’s director of public safety strategies last December and the 2007 Surrey Crime Reduction Strategy.

“Vulnerable persons in our community is a more significant issue than it’s ever been before and that’s why we’ve really ramped up our integrated services,” Waterhouse says.

He points to the new Integrated Services Network program which seeks to provide all-encompassing services for chronic offenders whose run in with the law are a direct result of substance use, mental health, and housing challenges.

Programs for youth are also highlighted in the report as a means to stop crime before it happens. The announcement of a future Community Safety Centre will give kids and the community a mixed-use facility while the new Clayton Heights Activity Team will give kids a safe place to hang out.

Surrey will also integrate more technology into their crime prevention and investigation techniques, Waterhouse says, including the introduction of Project Iris, a voluntary program whereby businesses can register their security cameras to help police gather evidence if a crime occurs in their area. 

An online web portal will also connect residents with relevant resources.

Hepner says the city will not be providing new funding for any of the initiatives and she is “confident” they can achieve the strategies goal within the city’s current budget, funding from other levels of government and grants.

“A lot of the initiatives are being built in kind by the partners that are delivering them,” Waterhouse “Where they do require new money, we’re working in partnership to fund their either ourselves or through other levels of government.”

“I am pleased to see such a proactive and modern approach to addressing public safety,” says Surrey RCMP chief superintendent Dwayne McDonald, who praised the integrated nature of the plan.

Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Morris congratulated Surrey for its work on the plan.

“Surrey’s Public Safety Strategy takes a broad approach with initiatives that will be delivered in partnership with community organizations and the Province,” Morris says.

Hepner says the city will roll out a variety of new programs within the coming weeks.

The 10 new initiatives announced as part of the overall strategy include:

• A Community Safety Centre (CSC)
• Cyber Security Outreach Program
• Girls Got Game
• Clayton Heights Activity Team (CHAT), providing safe space for youth
• Distressed Properties Response Program
• Project IRIS – closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) Registry
• Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS)
• Safety Mobility Plan
• Integrated Services Network (ISN)
• Community Services Web Portal