BC’s plan to help fight Surrey crime a PR stunt: former solicitor general
Posted April 28, 2015 5:33 pm.
Last Updated August 19, 2015 10:43 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – As the province has announced $250,000 in funding to go toward a youth anti-gang program in Surrey, Former Solicitor General and West Vancouver Police Chief Kash Heed says it’s not going to make much of a difference in combating the problem facing that city right now.
Calling it a PR stunt, he says the funding is a clear indication that the politicians behind this move don’t understand the gravity of what needs to be done.
“Which is so frustrating because back then we predicted that unless we became very proactive [and] started to think long term, started to think five, ten, fifteen years ahead we were going to continually going to have to face this problem. Again, here we are in 2015, 13 years later.”
Heed says they need to get to the root of the problem, starting with families.
“We can create what they keep calling safer communities. They make those statements but they don’t know what to do to get to that point and this is proven again today,” he says. “The Wrap Program is just one piece of the puzzle, it’s a very good program, I’m very familiar with it…I strongly encourage the continuation of this program.”
The money will allow between 15 and 20 more kids to join the anti-gang program, along with the 60 young people already enrolled.
