Gctober 27, 1991

60 pages

Classifieds 936-6222

Local banks, corner stores
favorite targets of robbers

ARMED ROBBERY is on the rise in North Vancouver.

The trend has loca! police
redoubling efforts to catch crcoks
and help store and bank staffers
step up preventive security
measures.

Said North Vancouver RCMP
serious crime unit member Const.
Doug Chisholm, ‘‘They’ve really
been on an increase over the past
couple of years. They come in
rashes. I don't profess to even
figure out why, I just try to solve
them. We had 17 bank robberies
last year and that was an increase

By Michael Becker
News Reporter

recorded eight armed robberies for
the first nine months of this year;
in 1990, six armed robberies oc-
curred during the entire year. In
1989 there were eight armed rob-
beries in West Vancouver.
According to police statistics,
the West Vancouver Police solved
81% of the robberies in 1989,

44 We had 17 bank robberies last
year and that was an increase of
400% over the year before. 99

— North Vancouver RCMP serious crime unit member

of 400% over the year beforc.’’

Chisholm noted a drop in the
number of banks hit this year. But
he said, ‘Corner store robberies
definitely continue to increase."’

Last Sunday, a man entered
A&B Produce at Seymour River
Place, produced a large-barrelled
aandgun and demanded money
from a female empleyee.

When confronted she ran to the
back of the store for help from
her husband. The culprit fled
empty-handed.

Meanwhile on Oct. 18 a woman
entered the Bank of Montreal
located in the 1100-block of
Marine Drive and demanded
money, Stating that she had a gun
in her purse. She left the bank
with cash.

The police describe the suspect
as having a ‘‘messy appearance,”’
carrying a black purse and wear-
ing a purple bomber-type jacket
and a pair of spandex tights with
number 46 written on the left but-
tock.

Police have noted a general in-
crease in the number of armed
robberies throughout the Lower
Mainland. Police view the phe-
fomenon asa crime against society
as a whole.

Said North Vancouver RCMP
Const. Marty Blais, ‘‘We have
seen an increase. It’s more of a
social problem. There’s no
simplistic approach to this prob-
lem. It’s all kinds of elements
together. Es it drug-related? Is it
unemployment-related? It's hard
to say because the guys who are
doing the robberies are from all
different backgrounds."’

In West Vancouver, the police

ene

Const. Doug Chisholm

29% in 1990 and 25% of the rob-
beries during the first nine months
of this year.

Meanwhile the issue of crime
and guns has become a focal point
in the debate over the federal
government’s recently proposed
gun-control legislation.

Gun lobby groups such as Ca-
nadians for Responsible Gun
Laws point to Gallup poll results
showing that 33% of respondents
feel gun-contro! laws should main-
ly address the guarantee of severe
penalties for any crimes involving
guns. The group argues that the
majority of gun-related crimes in
Canada involve guns brought il-
legally into the country.

Local police are finding that
most weapons seized during crim-
inal investigations are stolen, not
correctly registered or illegally
modified.

According to RCMP national
statistics, for the 17-year period
since national gun-control legisla-
tion has been enacted, 55,000
non-restricted and _ restricted
firearms have been reported stolen
throughout the country.

But said Ray Eagle, a West
Vancouver resident and a
spokesman for the Coalition for
Gun Control, ‘tArmed robbery is
a growing problem, but the fact
still remains that the greatest
danger with guns lies within the
home and with the number of
homicides that are by domestic
dispute or by accident.”

Local businesses seeking infor-
mation about robbery prevention
should call the North Vancouver
RCMP at 985-1311 or the West
Vancouver Police at 922-4141.

Crenna on warm
weekend clothes

Fashion: 17

Office, Editorial 985-2131 Display Advertising 980-0511 Distribution 986-1337

Playtime

TWO-YEAR-OLD Anne Bellamy doesn’t miss a beat as she jumps into a pile
of leaves in West Vancouver. For information on all kinds of activities for
children check out Kids’ Stuff on page 12.

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REACHING EVERY DOOR ON