The search for solutions to a wave of gang-related targeted shootings across the Lower Mainland has led to a wide-ranging debate about policing, crime and the judicial system.

Two men with known gang links, Ronal Shakeel Raj, 31, of Surrey and Ali Abhari, 25, of Kelowna were shot dead in this Mercedes at about 2:15 a.m. Tuesday moring in what police are describing as a targeted hit.
(CBC)

B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal told CBC News on Wednesday morning that gang members "clearly" seem to think there aren't any consequences for committing crimes, and that impression needs to change.

"I think some of the sentences at the early stages of some of the careers of these people who turn out to be gang leaders may have to be stiffened because we see cases where a person, the fourth, fifth, sixth time around, still gets a suspended sentence," said Oppal.

"I think maybe in those circumstances we have to get tougher with those people so that they get a message," he said.

Nineteen people have been killed in gang-style targeted shootings in Metro Vancouver this year, including two men who were gunned down in their car Tuesday morning.

Ronal Shakeel Raj, 31, of Surrey and Ali Abhari, 25, of Kelowna were shot dead in a Mercedes at about 2:15 a.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Granville Street and 70th Avenue.

Both men were known to have links to street-level gangs and police are calling the shooting a targeted hit.

Surrey Mayor Diane Watts speaks at a public forum on crime and policing Tuesday evening.
(CBC)

In Surrey, community leaders and residents searched for solutions to the gang problem Tuesday night at a public forum intended to find new ways to combat break and enters, car theft and other property offences.

While these types of crimes may seem less significant than the rash of high-profile gang-related shootings, RCMP Chief Supt. Fraser MacRae said it is important to address the smaller crimes in order combat the bigger issue of violence.

"The property crime I was talking about is fuelled by drug activity, drug addiction," said MacRae. "Those who are addicted to drugs need to get the drugs from somewhere. That creates organizations to supply them and rivalries, which results in violence. It's all wrapped together."

RCMP Chief Superintendent Fraser MacRae says there is no need to amalgamate Metro Vancouver's various police forces.
(CBC)

Despite the publicity surrounding the recent gang shootings, statistics show crime, and in particular property crime, is on the way down in Surrey, as a result of police targeting repeat offenders, said MacRae.

The recent shootings have prompted suggestions from Lower Mainland officials, including West Vancouver Police Chief Kash Heed and Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan, that amalgamation of local police forces should be considered, to better target gangs which move freely across municipal boundaries.

Vancouver, New Westminster, Delta, Port Moody, Abbotsford and West Vancouver all have their own municipal police forces, while other parts the Lower Mainland are policed by the RCMP.

MacRae said the various police departments across the Lower Mainland already work closely together.

The RCMP already co-ordinates an integrated gang task force, but on Tuesday, the Vancouver police announced they are forming a gang task force of their own.

RCMP Sgt. Shinder Kirk, a gang expert with the province's Integrated Gang Task Force, told CBC News on Wednesday morning the formation of Vancouver's gang task force is a move in the right direction, but police have a lot of work to do.

"Well, my gut tells me that we have a long way to go," said Kirk, "My gut tells me that we need to continue our efforts on several fronts, a 360-degree approach is how I term it, not only looking at it from an enforcement perspective, but also looking at it from a social perspective."

Kirk said the integrated task force has already been successful in preventing some gang violence in B.C.
 
Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts said Tuesday night she isn't sure if amalgamation is a good idea because each community is different and has different policing needs.

"We have the most kids per capita than anywhere in the province, so our issues are very different," said Watts.

But Watts is hoping some crime-fighting help is on the way. She said the federal government has told her it's committing money for hundreds of new officers to be added to police forces across the country.