Province targets gangs with task force dollars
Mon, February 27 2006
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Honourable John Les |
"We've committed $10 million a year, for the next three years, to ensure the task force has sustained resources to turn this cycle of violence around," said Less. "The escalation of gang violence is unacceptable, and the message we heard at the Premier's Congress on Public Safety in December is that only a long-term effort on the part of the police, government and the community will make a real difference."
The task force was established last year in response to meetings between Indo-Canadian leaders, the Solicitor General and the Attorney General. Although the Indo-Canadian community has been particularly hard hit by gang violence, with over 90 murders of young men in the past 10 years, the task force also investigates other gang activity in the Lower Mainland. At the time the task force was established, the Province invested approximately $8 million to help get it up and running.
There are 60 full-time police officers and 13 civilian staff on the task force. Delta Police Superintendent John Robin, who heads up the task force, says they have been operational since April 2005 and are now fully staffed.
"No one is under any illusion that gang violence will be resolved overnight," said Robin. "However, the community, the police and government are united and committed to the goal of suppression of gang violence in British Columbia."
"With the support of the community, specifically the Indo-Canadian community, the IGTF has made excellent progress," said Les. "With its law enforcement partners, the IGTF has been successful in leading a regional approach to enforcement and intelligence-sharing that specifically targets violent criminal gangs."
The Integrated Gang Task Force includes police from all municipal departments and RCMP detachments across the Lower Mainland.
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