It’s appalling to think that in the City of Surrey thieves have been sneaking up on people’s front lawns in the dead of night to yank campaign signs out of the ground and cart them off.
And it’s not even election time.
Surrey council last May voted unanimously to prohibit election signs on public property and along highways. This was not a bad thing, as groves of campaign signs, particularly at the corners of traffic intersections, pose a safety hazard because they can hamper motorists’ ability to see pedestrians as well as other vehicles.
Surrey bylaw enforcement officers during the 2018 civic election removed 1,831 candidate signs for not conforming to rules.
This is reasonable, not to mention lawful, as it pertains to public property – public.
Screen shot of video showing sign theft from front lawn. (ring.com image)
Ivan Scott organizes the Keep the RCMP in Surrey campaign, a protest group set against city hall’s plan to replace the Mounties with a city-made police force.
According to Scott, at least nine signs bearing the simple slogan “Keep the RCMP in Surrey” have been torn from people’s private lawns in Surrey. A video circulating in social media shows a guy hauling up to someone’s home on a cul-de-sac in Cloverdale this past Saturday at about midnight, hop out of his black pickup truck, run up deep up onto someone’s front lawn, yank out one of these signs, chuck it into the back of the truck and drive off.
Whether you like the RCMP or not, this behaviour is despicable. The signs don’t bear racist, sexist or other offensive slogans. They don’t advocate harm to others either, but rather a point of view concerning public policy – public safety, ironically – and were situated on private property.
Let’s hope these culprits are caught.
– Now-Leader
edit@surreynowleader.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
