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Surrey group rallying for changes in Whalley over spikes in crime, violence

SURREY (NEWS 1130) — A group in Surrey is continuing to advocate for tighter security in the Whalley neighbourhood where a sexual assault took place late Friday night.

Outside the King George Skytrain station, a woman walking under the Expo Line toward Fraser Highway was robbed by a man with a weapon.

On Saturday, Mounties reported the man took the woman’s personal belongings, pulled her into the bushes and then sexually assaulted her.

RELATED ARTICLE: Woman sexually assaulted, robbed near King George SkyTrain station: RCMP

Dean Camfferman with the Whalley Community Improvement Association — a group formed to address homelessness and drug addiction — tells NEWS 1130 that the area where Friday’s assault took place has been an on-going security concern.

One of the problems the group has highlighted is the concentration of methadone clinics in the northern part of Whalley.

Camfferman says one of the bigger issues for security is a collection of social service facilities, such as methadone clinics, in the area around King George, something he says the city has recognized.

“You’re concentrating all of the social services into one area, and as a result, this is bringing the problem … and exacerbating it in the area.”

While there is “still a ways to go,” over the years the area has improved, according to Camfferman.

“Compared to the way it was — certainly compared to the Downtown Eastside — [the area] is not near anywhere near as bad as what it was and so definitely improvements,” he says.

“While it’s … not completely, or even fully resolved, it’s certainly gradually getting better over the years.”

Camfferman notes there have been increased bicycle patrols in the area.

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