In the wake of a provincial report listing Squamish ninth in provincial crime rates, Crime Stoppers is launching a new initiative to fight the problem in the Sea to Sky corridor.
According to the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Squamish tied for ninth place with Prince Rupert in the 2006 Municipal Crime Rate Report with a total of 204 criminal code offences (excluding traffic) per 1,000 residents.
The 2005 statistics strongly demonstrate that crime is on the rise, said Crime Stoppers Sea to Sky chair Larry Murray.
"People are afraid to come downtown, there are bank robberies going on here," he said. "When I do my shopping at Save On Foods, walk home here to downtown Squamish I pass the pipe smokers and potheads and people sitting on stolen bicycles and on and on."
Now the Sea to Sky Crime Stoppers is looking at new strategies to deal with the growing problem.
"The old way of doing is not working. If it was working, crime would be reducing," said Murray.
Crime Stoppers is asking for the public's help in implementing new strategies.
"This is not something Crime Stoppers can do alone. This must be grassroots," said Murray. "That means the municipalities, organizations, businesses, citizens all have a role to play in making the Sea to Sky a crime free zone."
The strategy calls for a corridor-wide program of communication, education and action strategies to respond to crime. One phase of the strategy involves completing a crime audit to determine exactly what communities are dealing with.
"We're saying let's take a reflective and mindful look at our communities from a crime perspective," said Murray. "Between the ostrich in the sand saying 'Crime doesn't happen here' and everyone running willy-nilly with a shotgun in everybody's bedroom, between those two opposite extremes."
Mayor Ian Sutherland said he'd welcome a crime audit because he doesn't necessarily trust statistics that show Squamish as among the top B.C. towns plagued by crime.
"You can make numbers say whatever you want them to say," he said. "I think [a crime audit] is a great idea because we have to focus on what the problems are and how we really do stack up. We'll be able to separate all the facts from the rumours."
Sutherland added that the "good news is that the number of violent crimes are down" but downtown residents disagree. A resident requesting his identity be withheld said downtown residents are on "high alert".
In the last few months, RCMP reports have included several calls regarding armed robberies and assaults. Squamish RCMP statistics were unavailable by publication deadline.
It's difficult to follow-up on reports, said RCMP Cpl. Dave Ritchie, because individuals involved in incidents and witnesses often won't cooperate. But police continue to ask residents to be their eyes and ears.
"We encourage it. When people call in to say someone looks suspicious, we check them out," said Ritchie, adding that he hasn't seen violence increase. "I don't think it's an increase, but an on-going issue."
Murray said Crime Stoppers is in the midst of harnessing interest and idea in the community with presentations to the Squamish Lillooet Regional District, the corridor's Chambers of Commerce, the Howe Sound School District and various organizations.
Crime Stoppers will then help organize a committee by the fall, which will be given the task of publishing a strategy for public input.
Crime Stoppers wants to use statistics as their benchmark once the crime free zone program has been implemented and will adjust the plan accordingly.
"We'll be able to see what's going up and what's going down," he said. "And are we making any impact?"
