Fighting gang violence in the Lower Mainland

In the past week, the Lower Mainland has seen multiple gang-related shootings, Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers says as summer gets closer, gang violence becomes more frequent. The organization is asking youths to participate in the solution by reporting any potential crime and violence they may see.

The organization’s director Linda Annis says people who join gangs typically have two different outcomes in life.

“You either go to jail or you get killed. So, it’s important that we all play our part to make sure that if you know somebody is getting involved in gang activity, to call Crime Stoppers or call the police.”

The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit estimates that there are 188 gangs in British Columbia. The federal government announced Monday it’s investing $390 million into preventing gun and gang violence, with B.C. getting around $54 million of that total.

A gang violence advocate thinks rather than giving more money to the police, the federal government should fund more education and mentorship.

“They need, for example, community members involved in schools. They need Big Brother and Big Sister programs. They need to have other programs to involve the youth,” Saboor Meherzad explained.

Meherzad says he has lost many friends from Burnaby and Richmond to gang violence, with the first being killed when he was just 24-years-old.

“Nowadays kids can get firearms for less than you can get like an iPhone. And as we all have lived in that stage where we might get upset over small little things, but now the youth have the resources to be able to harm each other.”

An outreach counsellor for at-risk youth in Surrey says those from the ages of 12 to 24 are susceptible to joining gangs. He connects with them through playing basketball or going on walks where they open up to him, he says families and communities can pay more attention to young people to spot the signs of gang influence.

“Easy money. Quick money … Friends, peer pressuring. Most marginalized youth come from impoverished places,” said Sunny Aulakh.

“It could be like unexplained cash … bullying is a really big thing, cyberbullying is a big thing as well. Self-harm… hanging out with negative peers as well. It all depends on what crowd you hang out with.”

Annis says anyone, youth or adult, calling to report a crime should try to remember as many details as they can.

“A street address. What does the person look like? What kind of vehicle are they driving? Is there other people that are with them?”

She also says photos are very helpful to police.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect the Lower Mainland will be getting around $54 million of the total federal funding.