Petty theft frustrations lead to push for citizens patrol group in Maple Ridge

MAPLE RIDGE (NEWS 1130) – Issues surrounding homelessness affect many communities across the Lower Mainland.
While there are no easy solutions, NEWS 1130 is running a special series this week on how some neighbourhoods are dealing with the challenges, including in Maple Ridge where some residents are talking about taking things into their own hands.

Maple Ridge has seen its share of conflict, clashes between the city and the province over plans for housing to get people out of a tent city have resulted in debates, demonstrations and even shouting matches in the street.

Many residents are fed up with petty crime and addiction issues and, even away from the downtown area, some neighbours have talked about banding together to deal with a spike in property theft.

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Jon Brazier recently posted on a community Facebook page, looking for people to start a citizen patrol in Hammond.

“Let’s patrol the streets and catch these pricks! Let’s take Hammond back for our kids!” reads the initial post, which quickly attracted dozens of replies. The attention is not a surprise for Brazier.

“Almost every day I read a post about someone who’s been broken into — their tools have been stolen from their truck or stuff taken off their back patio — and a few weeks ago someone mentioned there’s a neighbourhood watch,” he tells NEWS 1130.

“But I never see it. I never see any kind of response to a neighbourhood watch. What we have in Maple Ridge is a very serious homeless problem with a lot of people afflicted by drugs — and I get that — but they are trickling down into Hammond, which is a quite a bit away from the where the homeless camp is downtown.”

Brazier would like to see a group of neighbours in Hammond put together a rotating community patrol, with members spending a few hours every week observing and reporting any illicit activities.
“I’m not talking about being vigilante-style justice, that’s not what I’m looking for. I just want some people with eyeballs to catch the guys who are breaking into cars and houses.”

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Regardless, Brazier’s post has attracted comments from some people who seem to want to take more drastic action.

“Our neighbourhood did this when we lived in Guildford,” reads on reply. “Frozen paintballs solve a lot of problems surprisingly enough.”

The local RCMP detachment says it is aware of the spike in theft in the Hammond area, and it has a message for anyone thinking about forming a citizens’ patrol.

“Police highly advise against taking matters into your own hands, particularly vigilante behaviour. If you see something, say something….if citizens are victims of crime, in any capacity, please call police and make a report,” states Ridge Meadows RCMP in an email to NEWS 1130.

Inspector Aaron Paradis adds that the Mounties are focusing patrols on hotspots in Maple Ridge.

“We highly encourage people to remove and/or hide valuable items. This can include anything from spare change or sunglasses to electronic devices and purses,” he says. “Additionally we are always recruiting volunteers for our Crime Prevention Citizens on Patrol program.”

But Brazier claims there is a lack of police presence when it is needed in Hammond.

“We have a fair amount of police officers in Maple Ridge but they mostly seem to be traffic control,” he says. “I don’t know what they are doing downtown, but they don’t seem to be protecting all the people who pay city taxes. It just doesn’t seem that way to me.”

Brazier admits that despite the initial interest in his Facebook post, it has been tough to get anyone to commit to meeting and organizing a patrol.

“It does seem to me like there’s a lot of a people complaining about a lot of stuff, but I think we could do something about it with a couple dozen people patrolling four or five hours per week,” he says.

“If they see something or somebody that shouldn’t be in the neighbourhood at that time of night, phone the police and get them down there.”