Doug Elford, a Surrey city councillor who rose to prominence as an anti-crime advocate, says he and his family have fallen victim to crime twice in the past few weeks.
A few weeks ago, Elford says, he woke up at 4 a.m. after hearing a noise in his Newton home.
He went downstairs to find his door left open.
“All of a sudden I heard a bunch of footsteps and my front door opened,” Elford explained, “and by the time I got down the stairs they were gone, so I had a burglar in my house.”
Elford says nothing was stolen from his home, but days prior some Christmas decorations were stolen outside his house.
“It’s kind of rattled us a bit,” he said.
Elford, who has long supported Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum‘s plan to replace the RCMP with a municipal police force, says the incidents have reinforced his belief that change is needed.
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“We feel it in the neighbourhood, we see it everyday and we see the lack of presence,” he said.
“The community is crying out for a better model, a better way of doing things in Surrey.”
Meanwhile, Fleetwood-Port Kells MP Ken Hardie is calling for a referendum on the move to a civic police force.
“I don’t believe mayor and council have a mandate to do what they’re doing, especially because what’s emerging is the costs both in terms of the service itself and what we’ve having to forgo to make that a reality,” he said.
Hardie says he’s not opposed to a civic police force, but feels the public needs more information.
“I first and foremost believe the citizens should be given a say here and if a referendum isn’t going to happen, then the whole final decision should be left until the next municipal election.”
— With files from Aaron McArthur
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