Get tough on car thieves (Surrey, BC)

The Province, Vancouver ^ | Monday, February 16, 2004 | Kent Spencer

[Murtyo]

Throw auto thieves into work camps and get them out of Surrey's hair, says tough-talking Mayor Doug McCallum.

Fed up with Surrey's high rate of auto theft -- 8,042 last year -- McCallum said yesterday that laws should be enforced to the max.

"We need to try encouraging the judiciary to get tougher with repeat offenders," he said. "One suggestion is to send them up to a forestry camp if they are convicted repeatedly.

"Provincial law calls for a maximum of two years for repeat auto theft -- and that's what should be given out. They could do tree planting and forestry. Education could be provided so they can come back into the workforce. It would certainly be better than the revolving-door court system we have now."

McCallum said other initiatives such as surveillance, bait cars, public education and anti-theft devices should be encouraged.

Surrey has been called the city with the worst auto-theft problem in the English-speaking world -- and the mayor agrees the situation is "serious."

The city is hosting an anti-crime forum on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Surrey Arts Centre in Bear Creek Park.

Guest speakers will include Justice Wally Oppal and Surrey RCMP chief Gary Forbes. The public is invited to bring suggestions to combat the problem.

This morning at 7, the mayor will hand out free anti-theft, wheel-locking devices at the Scott Road SkyTrain station.

"I've never seen a mayor handing out steering wheel locks and I'm proud he's doing it," said Surrey RCMP spokesman Tim Shields. "There is still a reluctance from some car owners to take a degree of responsibility."

Shields said it wasn't proper for him to comment on the mayor's call for more jail time because it is a judicial matter.

"If the public has concerns they need to contact their member of Parliament," he said.

Shields said a "very low number of adults" are committing the majority of auto thefts and using the cars to commit "other crimes."

The problem occurs throughout B.C., where 33,000 autos are stolen every year.

In May 2003, the province's auto theft task force arrested two criminals running a switched plate scam. They had accumulated 69 Criminal Code convictions in the last 15 years.

Moderates said the mayor is going too far.

Surrey Coun. Judy Villeneuve said the thing to do is work with the RCMP, the crime task force and the community co-operatively.

Defence lawyer Patti Stark said it is inappropriate for the mayor to make generalized comments about how the judiciary deals with auto theft.

"Each accused has to be dealt with on a case by case basis. It's not appropriate to make a broad statement that they should all be dealt with by sending them to camps," said Stark, who was a Crown counsel for 10 years in Vancouver and Vancouver Island.

"I understand the mayor's frustrations. What he has to realize is that the courts don't deal with whether offenders are sent to work camps or a different corrections institution. That is a corrections issue."

kspencer@png.canwest.com

© The Province 2004

[Murtyo]

"Moderates said the mayor is going too far.

Surrey Coun. Judy Villeneuve said the thing to do is work with the RCMP, the crime task force and the community co-operatively." love this part - "moderates"!!! more like "pinkos"