Pubdate: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 Source: Abbotsford Times (CN BC) Copyright: 2009 The Abbotsford Times Contact: http://www.abbotsfordtimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1009 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n390/a08.html DOWNPLAYING GANG REALITY ISN'T PRUDENT If Gordon Campbell really believes a British newspaper report on B.C.'s gang violence is "a cheap shot," the premier is in serious denial over the scope of the problem. Campbell made the comment this week after a story in The Independent last Sunday suggested the city's idyllic reputation had been eroded by the 21 fatal targeted shootings since January. The story, which describes a "suburban civil war" on Greater Vancouver's "blood-spattered streets," recounts the rise in organized crime over the past two decades as the province's marijuana crops found international markets. The story also quotes Vancouver police Chief Jim Chu on the rise in violence: "We've always been told by media experts to never admit that there is a gang war," he said. "Let's get serious. There is a gang war and it's brutal." Campbell's response to the story? "It's a shame that you have got some people that are going to try and take some cheap shots," he said. "It will be a great Olympics and I'm sure The Independent will write the great stories when the time comes." Recent arrests and prosecutions in the Lower Mainland offer a ray of hope. Also, police rarely warn in advance of their actions in these cases, so it's possible there is more going on in the fight against gangs than the public has seen so far. But the province's continued reluctance to seriously consider the amalgamation of the patchwork of municipal police forces to tackle the problem is a mystery. As the killings mount, bad-news stories about B.C.'s gang problem continue to appear in newspapers around the world - as they should. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom