Linda Hepner says parents of gangsters should turn their children in to police
"I truly do believe they should be coming forward," Linda Hepner says
Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner wants parents to turn their children in to police if they know they are involved in gangs or crimes, because she says the wall of silence is hampering police investigations.
"Yes, I truly do believe they should be coming forward," she told CBC's Rick Cluff on The Early Edition.
On Tuesday an elementary school was hit by bullets that left one man injured — the latest in a recent series of shootings in Surrey.
- Surrey RCMP too slow to respond to community tips, activist says
- Parents at Strawberry Hill Elementary concerned after school hit with bullets
Relatives handing over their loved ones is the best thing they can do for their children and the community, said Hepner.
"I think they should not only be doing it for their own children or for their family, if they know their family is engaged in this, but I think they should be doing it for the rest of us, who have our own children and grandchildren" she said.
Tips aren't enough
The community needs to speak up because while police are doing all they can, they are working within the limits of the law said Hepner in response to a a community activist's about RCMP response times to community tips.
"We are operating within the boundaries of the law. We have got to have more than so-and-so knows such-and-such and that goes back to how many person checks and vehicle checks and how aggressive we are on that — trying to get those elements in place to make those charges stick," she said
But community activist Meera Gill doesn't understand why the tips aren't enough for police to investigate and catch criminals in the act.
"They are not doing these activities in the jungle, they are doing it in Surrey. What more do they need to do?" she said referring to the latest shooting that occurred in broad daylight.
Gill fears the mayor's comments polarize the issue and put the blame on the community instead of solving the city's crime.
"For them to be putting all the expectations that someone will come out and give that stamped paper to them, I would say is tough luck right there."
To hear the full interview listen to the audio labelled Surrey mayor frustrated by silence around shootings with the CBC's Rick Cluff on The Early Edition.