Dear Editor,
Once again, a Langley City-commissioned Ipsos Reid Community Survey reports declining feelings of safety and security at night and in the Downtown core.
Predictably, some of these concerns are granted lip service while others are simply dismissed by a council majority that simply wishes to cheer-lead and embrace past practices.
As in years past, little is done to address the growing problems of drug abuse, mental illness, and poverty at the roots of an increasingly threatening street presence.
Months ago, council declined an opportunity to direct staff to find out how other communities have taken predictable traffic fine revenues to develop concentrated police initiatives. An example is North Vancouver’s clean-up of the Lonsdale District.
Now, in a knee-jerk reaction to the recent tragic events in Newton, Acting Mayor Ted Shaffer, to his credit, has directed funds from unused year-end police overtime to pursue an immediate police blitz of the Downtown Core.
But questions persist. Given repeated years of citizen-expressed concern, why would council neither pursue initiatives to learn from others nor identify available funding sources for such pursuits?
As Surrey pushes problems from Whalley to Newton, is Langley City to be the next ill-prepared recipient?
Dave Hall, Langley