Infographic submitted by Barinder Rasode's OneSurrey
Infographic submitted by Barinder Rasode’s One Surrey

Surrey: Reacting to Surrey First’s plan to keep Surrey safe, One Surrey Mayoral candidate Barinder Rasode said that the residents of Surrey paid the price as Linda Hepner and Surrey First ignored the City’s growing crime problem and waited a year for another research report.

“Our residents didn’t need a new report to tell them Surrey has a crime problem. Their new study supports what we all know – the Surrey First crime reduction strategy is a complete failure,” says Rasode. “Surrey First knew the RCMP didn’t have enough resources, but chose to do nothing about it.”

Last year, there were a record number of homicides in Surrey, and this year attempted murder is up 600 per cent, vehicle thefts are up 45 per cent, sexual assaults are up 30 per cent, and property crime is up 27 per cent.

Rasode has been calling for more police for over a year, as have law enforcement professionals, including the Officer in Charge of the Surrey RCMP.

Rasode has created the only comprehensive crime plan of the election, which covers the recommendations included in Dr. Cohen’s report. Canada’s longest-serving Chief of Police, Delta’s Jim Cessford, helped draft Rasode’s plan, and she recruited former RCMP officer Merv Bayda and Vancouver Police Detective Kal Dosanjh to her One Surrey team – together they have 60 years of law enforcement experience.

“Linda Hepner and Surrey First have no credibility on solving the crime issue for the residents of surrey. They chose to deny there was a problem and ignored the dramatic rise in murders, assaults and violent crime. Now, one month before an election, they start talking about crime,” says Dosanjh. He adds, Dr. Cohen’s report supports the “no-call-to-small” strategy put forward by One Surrey.

“Unfortunately, Surrey residents now see what happens to a city when you don’t invest in public safety. It wasn’t a priority and money that should’ve gone into policing went elsewhere. Crime escalated because Surrey First refused to listen to residents and experts who told them their plan wasn’t working,” says Bayda, who served as an RCMP officer for over 35 years.