White van allegedly following young women in Surrey, social media post says
White van allegedly following young women in Surrey, social media post says
White van allegedly following young women in Surrey, social media post says
A social media post is warning young women in Surrey’s Newton neighbourhood to be on high alert, after several have come forward claiming they’ve been followed.
Gurpreet Kaur Parmar, founder of the Kaur Movement which provides resources and supports for victims of domestic and sexual abuse, said received four messages from women earlier this month, prompting her to put out the alert.
The post said women under 25 have been followed by two to four men in white vans near the Tamaanawis and Panorama area.
After she published her post, more women came forward.
“It was very concerning,” Parmar told CTV News.
She said she encouraged the women to report the incidents to police but they were hesitant because they felt like officers could not do much to help since they didn’t get a licence plate or they felt like it would be time-consuming to file a report.
“It should still be reported and it's really sad to see that the women are reaching out to me before they're reaching out to the cops,” Parmar said.
SFU criminology professor Rob Gordon said it is important to report to police because each snippet of information can be helpful.
“Any good police work -- community police work in particular – involves the accumulation of information. Some of it is useful, apparently. Some of it is not useful, apparently. But they're all bits of information, which a crime analyst can piece together and produce a very useful picture,” Gordon explained.
Surrey RCMP are also asking the women to reach out to officers and so far, they said one person has done so.
“We received information of a possible incident. However, details were very limited and investigators are working on obtaining more details,” said Const. Gurvinder Ghag.
“As we've seen in the past, social media posts can create fear. And it's difficult for us to determine the legitimacy of these posts. So unless people actually report to police, it's hard for us to determine the legitimacy of these posts,” she said.
Parmar has also set up a team of male volunteers in the neighbourhood who will be available around the clock if anyone feels unsafe.
“They're scared to call the cops. So if they're reaching out to us, we have people that would actually go to that spot right away…it's a safe way of protecting our own and it's connecting with the Sikh community,” Parmar said.
She said her volunteers would not get out of the vehicle or engage with the suspects, but rather, gather evidence that police may find useful.
Gordon believes situations can quickly escalate and the volunteers would put themselves in danger or accost someone who’s innocent.
“Don't get caught up in the romance of running around in the community, protecting people from what may well turn out to be phantoms,” he said.
“You can go out as citizens patrol under police supervision, that's a far better way of proceeding than just simply running around the streets, as I say, behaving like a bunch of cowboys because that's going to get you into trouble,” he explained.
Parmar said she does encourage the women to contact police first and her goal is to warn others to be vigilant.
G7 leaders opened their summit Sunday with a discussion about shaping the global economy at a time when conflict and unrest are driving up prices and access to key goods around the world.
Hundreds of protesters descended on the U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday to denounce the justice's decision to overturn the half-century-old Roe v. Wade precedent that recognized women's constitutional right to abortion.
New research looking at the frequency of heavy rainfall across the globe shows that a drastic increase in downpours is expected over the years to come.
The final bell is about to ring at the end of a topsy-turvy school year warped by the COVID-19 crisis and students are reflecting on how the pandemic shaped things.
Cat and dog owners who cuddle their pets when infected with COVID-19 could end up making the animals sick with the virus, according to a Canadian study.
The higher parts of Angelique Beauchemin's land, she said, are sinking an inch or two a year as they slope ever more steeply toward the river. While she's not a scientist, she says her biggest fear is that one day there will be a landslide and the white house at the top of the hill where she's lived for decades will tumble down.
The latest on the G7 summit: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says attacks by Russia on residential buildings in Kyiv show the importance of international unity in supporting Ukraine.
The federal public safety minister says he is 'deeply committed' to enhancing oversight of the RCMP by strengthening the role of the national police force's management advisory board.
A 15-month dispute in British Columbia's film and television industry has ended with the ratification of a new contract for creative and logistical staff working on productions shot in the province.
Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw for 321 yards and Malik Henry scored a third-quarter, go-ahead touchdown for the Calgary Stampeders in a 30-23 win over the visiting Edmonton Elks on Saturday.
Nearly 100 Ukrainian members of Calgary’s community marched in protest calling for the release of Azovstal Iron and steel workers, defending Mariupol from Russian attacks.
After the U.S. Supreme Court stripped away constitutional protections for abortion Friday by overturning Roe v. Wade, NDP Leader Rachel Notley demanded that everyone running to become the next leader of the UCP clarify their stance on the issue.
Fans leaving the Garth Brooks concert at Commonwealth Stadium Friday night were happy and smiling, despite some logistical issues that delayed the show and frustrated some.
A Member of Parliament from rural Alberta went live on Facebook Friday to celebrate a United States Supreme Court vote to end constitutional protections for abortion.
Hundreds of people gathered in front of Edmonton City Hall Saturday to celebrate the first large Pride event in the city in four years, and the first one in Churchill Square in eight.
Dozens of people gathered outside the U.S. consulate in downtown Toronto Saturday to protest a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court to overturn constitutional protection for abortion rights.
More people are commuting to offices downtown than at any point since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic but the recovery hasn’t been equal across the board, with both GO Transit and the TTC reporting fluctuations in ridership as many workers choose to work from home at the beginning and end of each week.
The higher parts of Angelique Beauchemin's land, she said, are sinking an inch or two a year as they slope ever more steeply toward the river. While she's not a scientist, she says her biggest fear is that one day there will be a landslide and the white house at the top of the hill where she's lived for decades will tumble down.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) issued a heat warning for the islands of Montreal and Laval in addition to the Vaudreuil and Valleyfield-Beauharnois areas.
Using a trailer or an RV is an easy way for people to get out of the city and into the outdoors, but with soaring gas prices, the cost of driving with one has gone up drastically.
When Ennio Muzzolini walked into Christies Mayfair Bakery in 1965 interested in purchasing the small bakery on 33rd Street, he never imagined he’d one day be looking on as hundreds of people lined the block to get their hands on a baguette, cinnamon bun or wood-fired pizza.
The inquiry into Nova Scotia’s 2020 mass shooting, says four pages of handwritten notes that sparked a political firestorm in Ottawa this week, weren’t immediately submitted when subpoenaed by its investigators.
After a week of criticism and anger at the Mass Casualty Commission in Nova Scotia, and outcry in a rural area of New Brunswick, there are questions about the RCMP’s role in community policing.
G7 leaders opened their summit Sunday with a discussion about shaping the global economy at a time when conflict and unrest are driving up prices and access to key goods around the world.
With hundreds of students from India who attend Northern College, and other professionals from India who've moved to the city to work, organizers said they felt it was time to bring everyone together to celebrate their culture with the rest of the community.
