Langley RCMP Superintendent Murray Power and eight officers from the Langley detachment met with about a hundred residents at the Aldergrove Community Policing “town hall meeting” Thursday evening at Betty Gilbert Elementary school’s gym.
The public meeting covered a lot of the same ground as the RCMP town hall meeting in Aldergrove late last year, but there was also a lot of agreement that the situation had improved since that time. There was also appreciation expressed that the police force, right up to the top, has taken the time to listen to concerns and issues from community members in Aldergrove.
People spoke freely, under condition of anonymity, and the tone was frank but always civil.
A senior living at the Willow Creek complex said he was thankful that a repeat thief was dealt with quickly recently when he trespassed on the property recently.
“Four police cars showed up within minutes and arrested the guy,” said the man. “That was a nice surprise.”
Spt. Power said that police prefer to deal with this type of criminal by continually building a case for prosecutors so that the trespass “is a breach (of a court order) as opposed to ‘I got lost.’ It’s still a marathon for police but it has more success.”
While there is no neat and tidy answer to crime, police said the simple truisms still hold: prevention works better than anything else.
“Thieves look for opportunities to steal,” said Spt. Power.
Locking doors and putting valuables where they can’t be seen are effective deterrents.
“But we don’t want folks feeling like they are prisoners on their own property, either,” said Spt. Power.
Police can also send out crime prevention staff to look over a property’s security system and layout and can recommend ways to make it less attractive to thieves.
“We’ll do all we can within the laws of this country.”
Cpl. Mohammad (Mo) Beyhaghi, Aldergrove Community Policing Officer spoke about the need for the public to keep police informed of suspicious activities.
Langley RCMP have been putting a lot of effort into curfew enforcement, as well as talking to landlords who rent houses to criminals, informing the landlords of the problems they are creating in the community.
Aldergrove Business Association member Mike O’Grady also spoke of how the Aldergrove Community Consultative Group came together late last year in an RCMP initiative, mostly driven by Cpl. Beyhaghi, as a partnership with community agencies to address crime issues in Aldergrove.
O’Grady said that programs such as Block Watch need more active support and participation from Aldergrove residents.
