Three people deported as Mounties work to stop youth violence, reassure Surrey residents
Credit to Author: Harrison Mooney| Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2019 02:39:21 +0000
Three people have been deported and the visa status of three others is under review as Mounties combat a wave of criminal activity, some captured in violent videos, in the Newton area.
Surrey RCMP announced the deportations Tuesday as they weathered accusations from community members that not enough was being done to quell the violence, which some have attributed primarily to international students. Videos of assaults and other unruly behaviour filmed in the area have made the rounds on social media, alarming citizens and prompting criticism of police.
In mid-August, a video was posted to social media that captured a messy, violent brawl in the parking lot of a Strawberry Hills strip mall. Another video, filmed last week in the same area and posted Thursday on YouTube, shows a group of five or six men, most wearing dark hoodies, vandalizing cars in a parking lot in the 7000-block of 128th Street in Surrey.
On Tuesday, concerned community members attended a forum at Surrey’s Grand Taj Banquet Hall to discuss the violence and what should be done. The event was organized by Media Waves Communications, an internet radio station in Surrey.
Media Waves radio host Ashiana Khan, a Surrey resident, said the issue is top of mind for her listeners. When she discussed the most recent violent video during a morning talk show on Nov. 15, her phones lines lit up.
“I started getting calls from the community after the talk show that they were concerned, they had fear in the community that these kinds of behaviours were happening again,” she said. “These are international students and, as a Canadian, our social behaviour is not like that. We don’t go and start beating people up on the street. We rarely used to hear something like that, so now that’s a big concern.”
Khan said the group would be circulating petitions demanding the federal government review the student visa process.
Surrey Mounties tied to reassure the public Tuesday, providing more information about their attempts to improve safety in the area.
Cpl. Elenore Sturko said in a news release that Mounties have been running an enforcement project in the Strawberry Hills area since March targeting youths and young adults congregating in the area and generating complaints of harassment, public intoxication, and fights,”
Over 50 individuals connected to these groups have been investigated, Mounties said, and police have been working with businesses and property owners to improve safety.
“Our community response unit has been actively engaged in this issue for the past eight months,” said Supt, Shawn Gill. “While these incidents involving groups of youth are somewhat isolated, we are dealing with those responsible for these disturbances, and working to prevent further incidents from happening.”
While not all of the incidents involved international students, police said, they reminded individuals in Canada on a visa that any criminal activity violates the conditions of their stay and they could result in deportation.
The Surrey RCMP’s diversity and Indigenous peoples unit will also be reaching out to local international student associations to provide information on visa conditions.
“We hope that (RCMP) are going to look closely into this, because this happens right in the core of Surrey, in Newton,” said Khan, who added that she visits the Strawberry Hills plaza often. “We don’t want these things. I want RCMP to be a little more serious on this.”