Safety session in Burnaby after string of sexual assaults
Posted March 30, 2016 11:42 pm.
Last Updated March 30, 2016 11:44 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BURNABY (NEWS 1130) — Safety is top of mind for many in Burnaby after five sexual assaults in a northeast neighbourhood since January.
Over 100 people took in a safety presentation at Burnaby Mountain Secondary School Wednesday night in hopes of finding out how to protect themselves in case of an attack.
Women who frequently walk in the area tell NEWS 1130 it makes them angry to see their community as a danger zone.
“It sure does. I want to walk in those trails by myself on a sunny afternoon, but I’m going to follow their advice because my safety is more important than being worried over it.”
“It makes me worried; it makes me want to know how to take care of myself. I guess it takes time for police to find this person.”
“It’s like an alarm for everybody in the community; we all need to be more careful.”
Burnaby RCMP Staff Sgt. John Buis offered some tips on how to keep safe during this time.
“Stay alert and aware, especially when you’re using technology that we use all the time. When you’re going out for a run or a walk and put the earbuds in, maybe for the next little while it’s not the time to do that. Your hearing is one of your main senses when there is approaching danger,” Buis says.
“Go in groups, whenever you’re going out at night or in isolated areas. They’re common sense kinds of things but people are busy and they forget, so we just want to make sure that they’re aware that there are people out there that could harm them.”
Buis says after 25 years with the RCMP in Burnaby, this is an unusual time for his community.
