CFSEU-BC Project Leads to Impact on Reducing Gang-Violence in LMD

For Immediate Release: May 9th, 2019

CFSEU-BC Project Leads to Impact on Reducing Gang-Violence in LMD

In March of this year, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia (CFSEU-BC), Surrey RCMP and Abbotsford Police Department embarked on a 30 day project dubbed PARA BELLUM. This project is a CFSEU-BC initiative to enhance law enforcement tactics and effectiveness through the use of innovative historical data analysis applied to resource deployment strategies. The objective of PARA BELLUM was to mitigate, disrupt, and suppress violence through proactive and high visibility enforcement. Traditional criminal analysis support was enhanced by leveraging knowledge gleaned from ten years of statistical criminal information.

Over the past decade the month of March has shown to be very active when analyzing events of gang- related violence in the province of BC. The CFSEU-BC Strategic Research Office examined the data available in relation to these events and provided insight into historical patterns with respect to location, day of the week and even the time of day that a violent act might occur. This information was combined with traditional criminal analysis, and the contributions of law enforcement Agencies across the Province to the Provincial Tactical Enforcement Priorities, which identified individuals who either lived or were criminally active in the identified areas of concern.

Using this methodology the CFSEU-BC’s Uniform Gang Enforcement Team, Surrey RCMP Gang Enforcement Team and Abbotsford Police Department Gang Enforcement Team resources were deployed into identified hot spots at high risk times. The measure for success for PARA BELLUM was to determine if the resources could achieve enforcement success as a result of this research and if the gang related violence could be significantly reduced based on historical averages.

Throughout the project the collaborative team checked 2147 people, 1101 occupied vehicles, and created 435 files. This resulted in 59 arrests, 111 charges under Provincial statutes, and 45 criminal charges so far, with multiple files still under investigation. Also, over 40 prohibited weapons were seized and 4 firearms. Also seized were quantities of suspected cocaine, over one kilogram of crystal meth, Xanax and fentanyl.

The CFSEU-BC’s researchers and intelligence analysts are in the process of working with our policing partners, analyzing the information captured during this project, to determine the overall impact it had in reducing acts of gang-related violence. The CFSEU-BC will continue to refine the methodologies used in relation to intelligence led projects such as PARA BELLUM, in its efforts to reduce gang related harm in our communities.

There were examples of violence related calls in the vicinity of deployed PARA BELLUM resources in the areas of Abbotsford and Surrey, where the proximity of these resources to the event allowed for a greatly enhanced enforcement response for the community.

“The Surrey RCMP continues to work with our policing and community partners to reduce violent crime throughout the Lower Mainland“, says Superintendent Shawn Gill, Surrey RCMP Community Services Officer. “The intelligence generated from this project will assist investigators and analysts from several units dedicated to addressing public safety related to gang conflict.”

The Abbotsford Police Department’s gang strategy stands on four pillars: Suppression, Prevention, Intervention and Community Engagement. “We are active participants with both proactive and reactive enforcement efforts with municipal, provincial and federal policing partners”, says Chief Constable Mike Serr, Abbotsford Police Department. “Our goal however, is to go beyond the traditional police response to gang crime and engage the expertise of our social partners and our community. Suppression (disruption and enforcement) is our response to dealing with those youth that are already entrenched in the gang lifestyle. We haven’t been able to arrest our way out of the gang conflict. We need to educate youth to give them the knowledge they need to make a choice to not enter the gang lifestyle (Prevention); and when we do that we need to support those youth, their families and those on the periphery of gang life (Intervention); to do this we need to have a presence in the community where we challenge the community to come together and help us help them (Community Engagement).” Our strategies slogan is “Our Youth, Our Community – Abbotsford’s Gang Strategy”.

“CFSEU-BC is committed to exploring new, collaborative and innovative law enforcement strategies in order to combat organized crime violence,” says Inspector Duncan Pound, CFSEU-BC Operations Officer. “Enhanced and strategic deployment of resources in support of Provincial Tactical Enforcement Priorities allowed CFSEU-BC, Surrey RCMP and Abbotsford PD to directly impact the individuals involved in organized criminal activity and reduce the harm to our communities.”

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