The brutal attack that occurred on Dec. 30, 2013 outside the Newton recreation centre, which left 53-year-old Surrey resident, Julie Paskall, clinging to life until she finally succumbed to her injuries the following morning, on New Year’s Eve, has incited
The attack was unprovoked. Paskall was reportedly at the Newton centre to pick her son up from hockey practice.
Police would later reveal a similar assault took place on a female in the same area on Dec. 16. Why this previous incident wasn’t brought to the public’s attention ought to warrant further explanation. But, another topic for another post.
The pressing issue brought to light by this horrifying event is the crime in and around the Newton area, which culminated in the death of a reportedly innocent hockey mom.
Some initial perspectives…
ReNewton founder Jude Hannah (@ReNewtonNation), a Newton community organizer and urbanization activist, points a heavy finger at Mayor Dianne Watts:
“First of all, we need the mayor to address the situation and to get the focus off the city centre and trips to Israel and all of that… Her legacy wont be that gleaming city centre, but that she’s just pushed Whalley down five miles into Newton. And that will be her legacy. And nobody wants to see that… When this kind of thing happens to an innocent woman doing what parents do, in a place that should be safe, it’s just beyond devastating. We need to hear from the mayor.”
The mayor stated:
“We’re going to focus on the investigative process right now… We’re making sure that we get this individual off the street, and that’s our focal point at this point in time.”
Councillor Linda Hepner followed up by saying:
“It’s not an isolated incident. There was a similar incident to an assault that happened in the same area on Dec. 16, in the area of the bus exchange. And until we get this guy caught, that’s what our focus is going to be on. There’s lots of things we can discuss farther down the road, but right now, we do need the public’s help.”
Business owners and nearby residents offered statements that eschewed the notion that this is nothing new for the Newton area. Petty crime, assault, robbery, drug trafficking, prostitution all happen in the area.
Deferring on the matter
According to Watts and Hepner, the discussion on how to fix the overall problem would be left for a future date because there’s a violent criminal at large so that is the current focus.
A public relations maneuver? Perhaps. Assign an immediate, short-sighted goal to a larger, more systemic issue. Or perhaps the latter is just stating the situation in a matter of fact manner and there is no political spin whatsoever. Either way, there’s a crime problem in the little City of Surrey.
Residents in the area, as well as business owners, are calling for immediate action.
Surrey blogger, Laila Yuille (@LailaYuile), asked for the removal of trees near the bus loop leading to the rec centre, better lighting and an increased police presence. While positive measures, these only curtail the crime in and around that area, it is merely a Band-Aid on a greater, systemic problem.
There is a Surrey RCMP detachment that sits not too far from where this incident, and others in the area, have occurred. In fact, the detachment is just across the street from the Newton bus loop.
This, in my opinion, is a testament to the fact more police will not solve the overall issues that are plaguing this city. The crime in the area is a byproduct of homelessness, poverty, drug addiction and limited medical services, especially in regard to care for the mentally ill. It’s these societal issues that must be addressed before any real change occurs.
A couple of policies deserve added scrutiny:
Surrey’s plan for the homeless
The City of Surrey commissioned CitySpaces Consulting Ltd. to come up with a plan to deal with the city’s homeless (Read: Housing Homeless Final Report). The Master Plan, as it is dubbed, was adopted by council July 2013.
The report assumes 400 homeless in Surrey, an (old) figured pulled from the 2011 Metro Vancouver Homelessness Count. CitySpace then incorporates a 10% margin of error for any influx or decrease of that tally, over the years. The plan thus outlines a “procurement of supportive housing over a five year period,” with an estimated tab of $45,750,000 for 340 housing units. The plan also states that it, “assumes local partnership contributions of 10%” will reduce the cost to $41,175,000.
Still a substantial bill.
Then there’s an 110 additional units, required to accomodate the 60 or so remaining homeless tabulated by the Metro Van report.
What first strikes me is the lack of original research to form an updated figure. The State of Homelessness in Canada 2013 reports up to 200,000 people, annually, experience homelessness (unsheltered; emergency sheltered; provisionally accommodated; at risk), 30,000 on any given night. To say that the second largest city in the third most populated population centre in Canada only contributes 0.01% of the entire count?
Regardless, right or wrong, there’s a homelessness problem in the city. CitySpace also reported an inventory of the city’s beds and units.
- 85 beds @ 3 co-ed emergency shelters
- 26 beds @ 2 women’s shelters
- 48 additional units @ safehouses
- 688 transitional & supported housing beds
The report states that these spaces “regularly operate at full capacity.” This is over 800 spaces occupied on a regular basis, so much so that it is common to turn many down. As the Homelessness in Canada report states as well, many homeless go undocumented for whatever reason that may be.
Thus I would have liked original research into the city’s count and I believe CitySpace should complete its own research into the figure.
But, irregardless, the glaring caveats of the research that was conducted was indeed 1. the reported housing gap for homeless and 2. the handful of service gaps.
- Housing outreach and follow-up services
- Health, mental health and addiction services
- Discharge services from hospitals (Being corrected) and correctional institution
- Meal programs
- Prevention and financial assistance services
The bottom-line. The “Master Plan” is an outline. There are no sureties and the plan accounts for a five year gestation period. So, by 2019, there should be 450 housing units and associated services for the homeless if this plan is to take shape within the year. (Note: the report sets a goal of 2017!).
This is a mid-sized project in comparison to the Whalley revamp, but it is an important area of policy to keep an eye on and if council drops this ball, it must be felt in the elections.
Surrey’s crime strategy
Surrey’s crime reduction strategy (Read: Crime Reduction Annual Report 2012) is another pillar in the city’s push to make this a safer place for the half-million plus living here and the generations to come.
Established in 2006, the crime reduction strategy seemingly works on the surface, to curb property crime, vandalism and auto theft. Key developments that have come out of this program mentioned in the 2012 round-up, are:
- Community Safety Officers.
- Auxiliary Constable Program
- Enhanced protection at SkyTrain / transit
With a number of other community focused initiatives, additional patrols and the addition of streetlights and CCTV cameras, crime is down in certain areas but still noticeably high in others. The only thing more surveillance and ramped up police patrols does is force criminals into other shadowy areas, until the city resembles an Orson Welles plot more and more, and privacy begins to erode, even for citizens that uphold the law.
Transcending the municipality
This is not about police; crime stems from systemic problems that turn into larger societal issues. Help for the homeless is important, as is reducing general crime with an established police presence in the community—both policies discussed above must be monitored.
But, on top of that, we must provide resources for the city’s drug addicts and provide better programs for the mentally ill, especially at the onset stages when an individual is just experiencing problems from the disease.
Furthermore, lets not forget the pockmark on British Columbia’s beauty: our child-poverty rate. One in five children are said to be statistically poor; a shocking stat itself and the highest in the country.
Systemic flaws must be ironed out of the institutions that are supposed to help those who need it most: the homeless, drug addicts, the mentally ill and those stricken by poverty, especially children. Until the ones most susceptible to commit criminal acts, now or at some potential time in the future, are provided adequate help, communities, in general, will not be safe.
While talking to a few business owners in the Newton area, some mentioned the bus loop as a harbinger of bad things. And this speaks to the point on greater societal issues.
Having transit nearby shops and business should be considered a great thing. But it depends on the kind of community public transportation can bring. The fact Newton’s bus loop attracts the kind of people those in the area claim, speaks to a larger concern than police patrols.
This is a regional concern as well as it is a municipal one. To begin solving the societal problems behind the mind and behaviour that leads to a death like Paskall’s requires the kind of funding not many municipalities, save for Fort McMurray, could afford unless the burden is shifted to the populace. We see the cost just to help a portion of homeless find a home and that’s just a segment that requires help. Reform is what this city—and region—needs, not just additional cameras and patrols.
Surrey BC'er 