A wave of recent shootings in the Lower Mainland has communities and law enforcement on high alert.
In a timely fashion, Surrey RCMP unveiled its latest anti-gang video, which has been months in the making, aimed at educating and preventing students, and youths, from participating in the gang lifestyle.
The video, which is named Shattering the Image, will be shown to more than 10,000 students in Surrey, as well as some youth groups and sports organizations.
It is 15 minutes of truth, from people with lived experiences, explaining the dangers of participating in organized crime activities. It is the fifth iteration of the video, which was first created in 2018.
“I presented the (old) videos myself and I could see it (wasn’t) resonating with everybody,” Insp. Ryan Element said, who oversees Surrey RCMP’s Gang Enforcement Unit.
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“We believe (the new video) will bridge that gap … we have somebody that was involved in that lifestyle, has lived experience and hopefully we will be able to hit those students that we weren’t able to hit (before).”
That person is former gang member Raminder ‘Mindy’ Bhandher, who was convicted of second-degree murder in the killing of Sunny Bains in 2008. He served more than a decade in prison.
“Life is short. I have some regrets in my life and this is definitely … one of them,” Bhandher said in the video.
“This lifestyle that we idolize … these gangs
ters who are driving around that people think are cool, they’re only cool in a very small group setting. People might fear you, but no one is really going to respect you.”
The video also features Eileen Mohan, whose son Christopher was tragically murdered in the Surrey Six homicides. He was an innocent bystander.
“I put on this mask and I walk out the door to go to work every day, but every afternoon I come back to a silent home,” Mohan said in the video.
Surrey RCMP’s Gang unit said it’s hard at work, tracking down and arresting gang members, but more importantly, officials said education and prevention are the most impactful.
“People are preyed upon, depending on where they are in their life, and if there is a broken home situation and they get sucked into this lifestyle … there is no solidarity in gang members,” Chief Supt. Shawn Gill said.
“We knew as our community grew and as our school district grew, we needed our (own) gang enforcement officers and it is our responsibility to speak to the issues here in Surrey.”
Surrey RCMP said if a school or organization wants to be part of the change and would like to schedule a presentation, to send an email to Surrey_ShatteringTheImage_Request@Rcmp-grc.gc.ca.