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Chilliwack comes together to tackle crime

One of the ideas was for neighbourhoods within Chilliwack, such as Promontory or Garrison, meet as a subset of the larger group
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One of the organizers of Change for Chilliwack

Change for Chilliwack organizers want to keep the momentum going.

They held their first community crime prevention event with speakers and a Q&A on Saturday at Ruth and Naomi's Mission.

About 60 people showed up.

"There wasn't as large as a turnout as we expected for our first meeting, but there was still substantial interest, so we are planning a second event," said Andrew Kirkpatrick.

In the wake of the inaugural meeting, there's been a lot of chatter on Change for Chilliwack page, which has more than 1000 members.

So what surprised him about the first event?

"I wasn't expecting to see the passion of people who showed up," Kirkpatrick said. "It's nice to see that there is a real desire to be proactive and get some feedback."

One of the ideas was for neighbourhood groups within Chilliwack, such as residents from Promontory or Yarrow, to get together as a subset of the larger group to discuss common issues and concerns.

There were also suggestions about improving lighting as a preventative measure, as well as an emphasis on the importance of always reporting crime to RCMP.

"If there's a report made when a crime is committed, there's a record, which counts statistically for the hotspot map," he said.

That helps RCMP direct resources.

"The more people report things, the more officers will patrol," said organizer Shannon Werry.

She said she understood that when her vehicle was broken into a while back, and no officer showed up, it meant they were busy elsewhere.

"It wasn't a crime in progress," she noted.

There were presentations about Block Watch and Citizens on Patrol, as well as from a private security company, and from RAN.

At the next meeting in March Werring said she hopes to see more speakers and more ideas coming forward. Keep reading the Progress for updates that will include the location, date and time of the second meeting, which have not been determined yet.

"The first event showed us there are people out there who are concerned and frustrated, and who want to do something more than just relate their experiences online. They want change."



Jennifer Feinberg

About the Author: Jennifer Feinberg

I have been a Chilliwack Progress reporter for 20+ years, covering the arts, city hall, as well as Indigenous, and climate change stories.
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