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Written by -- Vancouver Province
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Tuesday, 26 August 2008 |
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That was brought home in no uncertain terms with news on the spread of organized crime in the Abbotsford area, including Mission.
Not that Abbotsford is a small town any more. It's a fast-growing, medium-sized city, with a lot going for it, including a state-of-the-art hospital and cancer centre, a booming airport and a university.
But the image most people still have of Abbotsford is one of farmers and church-goers.
So it may be surprising for them to learn that, in recent years, the Abbotsford metro area has experienced a dramatic increase in crime. Last year, it had the third-highest overall crime rate in Canada.
It appears, in fact, to be having the same kind of growing pains that Surrey underwent a couple of decades ago. And undoubtedly, as the community becomes more settled, the level of crime will settle down, too.
In the meantime, though, something clearly needs to be done about drug gangs offering local youngsters the promise of easy money and instant belonging.
As Abbotsford school board trustee Sat Gill says: "Part of their reason for turning to gangs is that a need is not being filled -- for companionship, for family, for love, whatever -- and they're finding it in a gang." The drug culture, in other words, is perceived to be "cool," or at least cooler than the alternative.
The solution? Well, there is no single easy one, except to tackle it at every level-- in the schools, the courts and the legislature.
One immediate suggestion is for community leaders in Abbotsford -- and in towns throughout B.C. -- to engage in a campaign, or series of campaigns, to tell young people what the drug life is really about.
We're talking here about a sophisticated set of hard-hitting adverts and posters similar to those that have been used to tackle the crystal-meth problem in Montana and other U.S. states.
The problem of drugs and gangs in B.C. will only be reduced when fewer folks are buying what the drug pushers are selling. At the moment, it seems to be the gang-bangers who have the momentum.
-- Vancouver Province
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 26 August 2008 )
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