ExKiwilass

So homeless = crime for you? YOu realise they aren't the same thing right?

Anyway, that's what the RCMP stats say - no matter how much Langley might wish it were otherwise.

scrubbedexpat091

There is far worse issues in the DTES then homelessness.

Regardless the worst place to live in BC is in Vancouver, clean your own city up before bashing others based on stats which can be skewed anyway people want to.

There is no place in the Fraser Valley I would feel unsafe at night, there is one area in Vancouver I would.

The stats show the DTES is crime ridden. Simple as that.

Vancouver is not a pleasant place to live in my opinion, nice to visit, not to live.

ExKiwilass

Chill, Jsmth.

I don't see what I said that was bashing though...

The commute sucks to Vancouver from there...fact
RE is cheaper because less people want to live there...fact
Crime is worse than in many other places...fact (why would the RCMP scew stats?)
And the malls, shopping strips and subdivisions are banal and soul-destroyingly beige coloured and samey...subjective opinion

Anyway, a happy new year to you and I hope this one is better for you.

JonboyE

They don't. The dubious stats in the article you link to in the OP are from the VPD. The only quote from the RCMP is that that the numbers issued by the VPD are "self-serving."

ExKiwilass

My bad, the VPD.

CanadianDreams

I used to live in a beautiful historical city called Bath and we certainly had our fair share of gypo camps and crime.....no where is perfect!

Let's not forget Home is where the Heart is......whether dodgy langley or dodgy vancouver!!

scrubbedexpat091

Sorry, I was in a bit of a bad mood earlier from being sick.

There is more land available in the Valley still, wonder what will happen when they start to hit a short supply.....

glassbrain

Kiwilass, here's a little New Year's Quizz for you...

Question 1. Do more people commute into or out of Vancouver for work?
Answer 1. Out of Vancouver. Hint: Ask Mayor Moonbeam what happened to the jobs & industrial land.

Question 2 (Requires Google Earth if you don't know your English geography)
Hook, in Hampshire was recently voted the most desirable place to live in Britain, but houses there are less expensive than in Central London. Why?
Answer 2. "supply & demand" of various things. Hint: Why do YOU pay so much to live in an expensive city?

Question 3. Which Municipal area in the Lower Mainland has a crime rate so high that the Provincial Government gives the number of crimes, but declines to give crime rates?
Answer: North Vancouver Provincial Lands (includes the parks & First Nation Reserves)

Question 4. (actually 2) Do you hang-out around the alleys of DTES, any more than I hang around cocaine corner & the bus loop in Langley City? Does the existence of this area stop you living in Vancouver?
Answer 4: I don't hang out there at all. They are not nice places. I don't actually buy any products or personal services offered by people on street corners. These places don't stop me living in the Fraser Valley since they are 7-8 kilometers away from me in a different municipality - Langley City - I live in the Township. (Different places but adjacent, OK? Sort of like Vancouver & the Endowment Lands )

Question 5. When you look at tourist brochures, ads & coffee-table books of Vancouver, do you suggest that all pictures of the saltchuck (Straight of Georgia/Salish Sea for newbies) & the North Shore mountains should be removed, since they are not actually in Vancouver?
Answer 5. No answer needed - too silly.

Please have a nice, safe 2013 in Vancouver. Remember the Port Mann Bridge has a really expensive toll, is very dangerous with weather that falls on the cars & that we wrote the book on crime in the dangerous wilds of the Fraser Valley.

ExKiwilass

nice example of a strawman argument, Glassbrain.

You realise nothing you've said has anything to do with what I said, right?

ps. I never have to use the Port Mann cos I don't have to cross the river.

ExKiwilass

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q...BgDBpnUSiChVPQ


Google doc on crime stats, etc, including graph showing how much higher Langley is than elsewhere.

From the report:

"The CSI was developed to apply differing weights to each type of crime and address the severity of crime; thus, in the CSI calculation one homicide does not equal one shoplifting. The CSI was developed by Statistics Canada in consultation with the justice community and this included substantial input by Canadian police. The CSI was first introduced in 2009"

and more fun stuff:

"The 2011 Total CSI in Vancouver is 103.4 and is higher than the national average of 77.6. The following figure also compares Vancouver's Total CSI with those of other police departments in the Vancouver Census Metropolitan area (CMA) , Victoria, and BC. As one can see Langley, Surrey, and Victoria had higher total CSI's in 2011 than Vancouver"

Langley's CSI is 170.6 compared to Vancouver's 103.4

JonboyE

It is an interesting read. My conclusion, apart from noting the substantial decrease in this crime index over the period of the study is that;

a) The RCMP in Langley are better at nicking villains than the VDP, and
b) the Courts in Langley impose tougher sentences.

glassbrain

..& you, Lass, miss or just don't understand my points. So, moving on.

The type of crime that put Langley higher in these stats (relating to 2011), was auto theft & break-in. Langley had a rate of violent crime lower than the national average & lower than Vancouver. The car-theft stats will drop substantially this year. Most of them relate to a few serial offenders (addicts), whose careers have come to an abrupt halt this year in the Valley. Do you have a car? If no, don't worry - be happy - you're low-risk. If yes, make sure you use basic common-sense when leaving it around.

I will repeat what I have been trying to tell you. Just as crime stats in Vancouver are skewed by the concentration of drug offences, assaults & vehicle incidents in DTES, the stats in Langley are skewed by a small area in Langley City & to a lesser extent downtown Aldergove. The troubled people in a small area of Langley City are in many cases refugees from gentrification in Vancouver & a determined cleanup/redevelopment in Whalley. We don't cure these social ills in BC, we just move them around. I suspect Langley is moving these folks further up the Valley to Abbotsford & Chilliwack. Where I live in North Langley I am not affected by the minor-crime in Langley City any more than the average Vancouverite is affected by the misery & crime of DTES - which is to say, not at all.

I suppose that I keep picking-away at you because I left England many years ago mainly to get away from the snobbery & elitism that I suffered under & upset me as I was growing-up. The attitudes you adopt in your posts would fit right in to that mix.

I like this "suburb" - our big garden, our house, our well-travelled trailer (caravan) parked in the driveway, our dog, my long country cycle-rides & walks that can start at the door. The city? It's a modest drive away when we need it. I can afford to live anywhere in Canada or the UK, but have just about the the best of all worlds where I am.

Criticize something you know a little more about. By your own admission you are prejudiced against the Fraser Valley & don't come here to visit.

ExKiwilass

Or:

There's more crime in Langley.

Also there isn't a court in Langley - I don't know where these crimes would be prosecuted, maybe Surrey? Or Vancouver, depending on severity?

http://www.provincialcourt.bc.ca/locations-contacts

dbd33

Kensington? You have RBK&C money and yet have a caravan? Talk about eccentric billionaire.

ExKiwilass

You made a strawman argument, it wasn't worth responding to as you didn't actually deal with any of my points, which, except for the 'thinking it's ugly' bit, are based in fact.


ps. I'm not English so I don't get the elitism thing you're talking about