Surrey-Cloverdale Liberal MLA Marvin Hunt has introduced a private member’s bill to toughen the penalties for carrying an illegal firearm in a vehicle in an effort to stem gang violence in the area.
It’s something anti-crime group Wake Up Surrey has been calling for since the 2017 provincial election.
Founding member Gurpreet Singh Sahota says gang and youth violence in Surrey has reached a “crisis situation.”
He’s calling on political parties to come together to deal with what he calls a “multi-layered problem.”
“There’s no comprehensive plan. There’s all Band-Aid solutions — like there’s a problem, give some money to charities and they do a walk or rally but no prevention measures, how to stop recruitment of gangster in elementary schools,” Sahota said.
Sahota believes there need to be improvements to civil forfeiture legislation.
He says that too often, youth involved in gang activity “are roaming Surrey with illegal weapons in vehicles.”
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