With Surrey hockey mom Julie Paskall’s murderer still not found and the community becoming increasingly frustrated, the NDP are floating a five-point plan to tackle the city’s crime.
But some members of the Newton neighbourhood are wondering why they were left out of the consultation, and whether the plan will work at all.
The opposition party is calling for an expansion of Vancouver’s Downtown East Side community court program, a tweak to the justice system that sees criminals sentenced to addiction and mental health programs.
“A community court would be a central pillar of a proposed Surrey Accord, which would bring all levels of government together to tackle the challenges of crime, mental health addiction and homelessness,” Surrey-Newton MLA Harry Bains said.
Bains said the program has been running successfully since 2008 in Vancouver and “now is the time to act.”
Doug Elford has been leading a grassroots campaign through the Newton Community Association, organizing community forums and working with Surrey city staff and RCMP and isn’t convinced the plan is the right one.
“We feel that we have already too many correctional facilities as it is right now in Newton,” resident Doug Elford said. “We were completely taken by surprise by this announcement.”
Attorney General Suzanne Anton said in a statement that the Liberal government is “continuing to evaluate innovative justice initiatives, including Vancouver's Downtown Community Court, to see if what we learn can be applied in other communities.”
Currently, the NDP aren’t saying how the $3 million plan for a new community court would be funded.
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Tom Popyk.
