Pubdate: Sat, 03 Dec 2005 Source: Abbotsford News (CN BC) Copyright: 2005 Hacker Press Ltd. Contact: http://www.abbynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1155 Author: Trudy Beyak POLICE CHIEF TALKS OPENLY ABOUT GANG ACTIVITY, ITS GROWTH Organized gangs are behind a large number of crimes in Abbotsford, says Police Chief Ian Mackenzie. He told the Abbotsford News this week that the UN Gang, for example, has been operating in this area for approximately five years. The UN (United Nations) Gang has a solid core of about 35 to 40 members, plus associates, working the streets of Abbotsford and Chilliwack, Mackenzie said. According to police intelligence, the UN Gang started as a loosely-knit group of kids of various nationalities who grew up together in this area. They became more formalized as a gang about four or five years ago, he said. They are involved primarily in drug trafficking and the movement of weapons, Mackenzie said. "The UN Gang is a major player in crime in this town." Mackenzie said the activities of the gang have reached the stage where it is a public cause for concern, but it should not be overblown. "The UN Gang and other organized crime groups are a cause for concern - but not a cause for alarm," Mackenzie said. White said he is shocked the police haven't cracked down on them. "Why aren't the police busting the gangs running in this city?" The MP said he is concerned about the safety of innocent teenagers in this town. "It's a public disgrace, a terrible thing when police are telling our innocent kids to leave town instead of cracking down on the bottom-dwellers in this town," White said. "Why are the police allowing the gangs to run in our town?" he asks. "They told an innocent kid who went to them for help to leave this town - yet the bottom-dwellers get to stay? That's just wrong." White said gang violence is the most serious issue facing Abbotsford and people need to fight together to eliminate this problem. "This could have been anybody's kid." Indeed, police are seeing a growth in organized criminal gang activity in Abbotsford, but it's happening all over the Lower Mainland, Mackenzie said. Other organized criminal groups in the Fraser Valley, Mackenzie said, include the Hells Angels, an Asian gang and an Indo-Canadian gang. The police chief said the department has limited resources to tackle the growing gang problem and could not discuss specific cases currently under investigation. Certain UN Gang members have been charged and convicted with some crimes and a number of police officers are keeping tabs on their activities, said Deputy Chief Rick Lucy. Mackenzie noted that the Abbotsford Police are investigating the abduction and torture incident reported by the teenager, whose story is published in today's edition of the Abbotsford News. The police chief said gangs may utilize physical torture at times, but it is not common. However, organized criminal groups typically do use intimidation and coercion, to their advantage, to drive fear into their victims, Mackenzie said. The police chief said it was "inappropriate" for a police officer to advise the teen victim, who moved to another province, to leave town. However, he also noted that victims should be prepared to testify in court when police proceed with criminal charges. In this case, the victim was unwilling because of fear. This presents a dilemma, Mackenzie noted. People may have legitimate fears about testifying against a gang member, but police do offer a witness protection program, Mackenzie said. On the general issue of gangs, Mackenzie said the Abbotsford Police have three officers dedicated to working with the B.C. Integrated Gang Task Force and two officers devoted to the provincial Combined Forces' Special Enforcement Unit. The police would welcome a concerted city effort - as Randy White is calling for - to try to shut down the gangs, Mackenzie said. White said he went to the Abbotsford Police this fall to advocate for the teen and then the police moved into action to start investigating his particular case. The MP said the community will certainly throw its support behind the police to shut down the gangs. Abbotsford Mayor-elect George Ferguson said criminal activities and public safety are big issues, but he doesn't have the answers. "The community has to get behind the police to work together to try to resolve this issue and find a solution, if we can," Ferguson said. The incoming mayor said he would work together with White and the police to try to address the issue. Abbotsford's current mayor, Mary Reeves, said it is a serious problem. "Certainly, organized crime is a big issue and we can't ignore it. Parents need to be cognizant of this element in our community and the schools and the police need to work on this together," Reeves said. Abbotsford school board chairwoman Joanne Field said she appreciates White bringing this issue to the public's attention and school administrators will certainly back up police efforts to crack down on the gangs. "The police have to play an important role in this. And, as a community we need to rally together to fight this, because the stakes are high - these are our kids," she said. White is demanding public accountability from police, city council and the school board, for which he used to work as the secretary treasurer. The youth was not allowed to return to his high school, because allegations were made based on the fact that he was seen in the company of gang members. But, no one had imagined that the kid was being forced to work for the gang, beaten and threatened with death, White said. He had nowhere to turn, the MP said. The teenager wasn't given the benefit of an administrative hearing, yet, he was barred from returning to the high school without evidence of any wrongdoing. "You can't do that to a student." White said. Field, on the other hand, said it was the right decision to prevent him from attending school, because the teen's life and the lives of other students might have been in danger if he had returned to the school near where he had been recruited. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin