underwear. But getting to know the man beneath the bullet-proof kevlar was the real point of an anti- crime fair at Mahon Park on Tuesday night. Hundreds of parents, children ‘and Block Watch volunteers mingled with a large contingent of the RCMP for well over three hours as North Vancouver cele- ’ prated its first National Night Out Against Crime. Children ran tirelessly between the Bell 206 Long Ranger RCMP helicopter, a new Trans Am pur- suit car and the Ronald McDonald Safety Show, ate too many free hot dogs and teased and tormented the various mutant nin- ja turtles, dragons and red-coated beavers wandering the site. Parents attempted to keep up. while perusing a variety of safety and crime prevention exhibitions. “It’s so worthwhile for the kids. Anything that gives them a chance to meet the police,”” said one mother. North Vancouver District Mayor Murray Dykeman describ- ed the evening as ‘‘a community celebration, primatily of the Block Watch program.”’ Block Watch is a crime preven- tion program operated by the police that knits together a com- munication network of neighbors, They keep wary eyes on neigh- borhood homes and_ report suspicious activities to the police and each other to reduce the like- Whood of residential crime. By Martin Millerchip Contributing Writer As Ron Davie, Block Watch area coordinator for Seymour, said, ‘‘The police would far rather you called them for nothing than a day too late.” Dykeman told the News that over 4,000 residents have signed into the program giving the district one of the largest par- ticipation ratios in B.C. “We are one of the few com- munities in Canada that are look- ing at a reduction of reportable crimes while most communities are looking at 8% to 15% in- creases,’ said Dykeman. Dykeman is happy with the fig- ures and attributed them to the effectiveness of the preventative policing program. ‘There has been some criticism that when you contract out to the Mounties you get what you are given, but here here we have a na- tional police force tailoring a local program,"* said Dykeman. One of the key improvements over earlier crime prevention pro- grams is that the residents of each Block Watch are trained and con- tinually supported by police. North Vancouver City Mayor Jack Loucks said crime figures in his municipality were down, but couldn’: say how significantly. “The big problem is with the number of apartment and con- dominium complexes that we Friday, August 7, 1992 - North Shore News - 3 Night Out fosters neighborhood networks RCMP host crime prevention evening in NV’s Mahon Park DALE WENTLAND goi to sit on a Harley Davidson for the first time. Jason McConville discovered that the small black pouch on a police officer’s belt contains a speed loader. Ryan Harrison got to look at Const. Jim Hand’s NEWS pkato Peul McGrath TEDDY KENNEDY is fascinated by an officer's Harley Davidson at the RCMP’s National Night Qut Against Crime held on Tuesday evening in Mahon Park. have,’’ said Loucks. But he teo was enthusiastic about the Block Watch program. “What they are doing is en- couraging people to be more con- scientious about their neighbor- hood. This is one way they (resi- dents) can help cut down the crime rate without getting into a dangerous situation,’’ said Loucks. District Coun. Ernie Crist described the evening as ‘‘histor- ic."” “We are changing the cultural habits of Canadians. We are Driver calls for barrier at foot of Parkway hull ‘Truck hits house at Dollarton Highway intersection A-DEEP Cove man, who says he was nearly killed - when his truck lost its brakes and crashed into a ~house, wants North Vancouver District to build a ‘road barrier at the east Parkway. John Blackburn, 25, said he was driving his 1980 Dodge van east. along. Mount Seymour Parkway at about 4:45 p.m. on July 17 when his truck sud- denly lost its brakes as he ap- proached the intersection of Mount Seymour Parkway and- Dollarton Highway. -He subsequently sped through a red traffic light at the intersection. “I couldn’t turn = any- .. Where...there was too much traffic and pedestrians around to risk spinning off to the side. “I tried to make a sharp left turn at the bottom (of the hill), and at that point I had my emergency brakes on all the way and put the transmission in park,”’ said Blackburn. He added that his van then went through a hedge, flew over a 40-foot embankment and just missed hitting a park- ed car before crashing into the side of a house on Banbury Road. Blackburn said he was told by an ICBC inspector that a master cylinder failed on his van. He added that he suffered euts 10 his knee, the back of his head and broke his nose in end of Mount Seymour By Surj Rattan News Reporter the accident. “The steering wheel came in- to my face. As soon as 1 was aware of where I was, I climb- ed out of the passenger side of the window.” Blackburn said his van crashed into the garage of the house. Once he managed to free himself from the vehicle he’ knocked on a door of the home and asked the occupant to open the garage door. “*] was worried about a fire, since I had hit quite close to where the gas meter was. From there, and I don’t know why, I ran to the top of the driveway before falling down again,”’ Blackburn said. As a result of the accident, Blackburn said he would like the district to install a brick barrier at the end of Mount Seymour Parkway and to build “something on a floating pad that would absorb impact and move if it was hit again. “I’m very lucky to be alive, but I would like to make that corner safer. I was told that in the past 10 years, 15 people 'DEEP COVE reaidcit John Blackburn. have crashed at the bottom of that hill,”? said Blackburn. Blackburn, who works as a bricklayer, said he would be willing to build the brick bar- rier himself. But Gavin Joyce, district manager of administration and traffic, said that as far as he knows the district has not been requested to construct a bar- rier. Joyce added that RCMP re- cords indicate there have been six accidents at the intersection of Mount Seymour Parkway and ‘Dollarton Highway since 1990 and that three of those accidents involved out-of- control vehicles, changing the attitude of ‘I mind my own business and I don’t get involved.’ It’s nice that we mind our own business, but not in crime. We have to care more about our neighbors,”’ said Crist. Mary deJong agreed. She has only lived on the North Shore for two months but is already enrolled -in ihe Block Watch program. Tuesday night she updated her 8 and 9-year-old sons’ identifica- tion with picture and fingerprints courtesy of Operation Family Identification. “I think this evening is a great idea,’’ deJong teld the News. ‘‘It promotes goodwill and 1 don’t think that either one of my sons would be reluctant to pick up a phone and dial 911.”" RCMP Supt. Bob Byam hopes that is true. He said that many of his force had changed their shifts in order to be abie to attend the evening on their own time, ““We've always been proactive in our approach to crime, but in the past we tried to do it all ourselves. We found we needed the community,” said Byam. Eight community members were honored with plaque presentations for outstanding volunteer work with the Block Watch program. They werc: Brenda Balaton, Barry Good, Axel Nicholson, Louise Williams, Keith Hester, Steve Warhurst, Mickey Knoflook and Eloise Marshall. : By cevening’s end as the helicopter buzzed tiredly back towards Richmond, the police cars in the middle of the dirt playing field were coated in dust and ripe for graffiti. The young writer who crossed out 911 and added 90210 to the. trunk of one blue and white thought cops were cool. Consolidation of North Shore court services to N. Van ‘efficient’ move OVER TWO months have passed since the closure of the North Shere West Probation and Family Court Services effice in West Vancouver, and all signs indicate that the newly consolidated North Shore system is working well. In an effort distribute limited staff and resources within the region, the Ministry of the Attorney General closed the West Van office on May 31, relocating the staff and resources to the North Shore Fast Probation office on East 23rd St. in North Vancouver. In a letter written to the At- torney General in April, West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager questioned the move. “The council of West Van- couver wishes to express their grave concern not only for the potential loss of a service, but also the lack of consultation (in reaching a decision),’? Sager said in the letter. But according to Illa Gibson, the local director of the North Shore East Probation Office, the joining of the West and North Vancouver Offices has not affected the services provided to the com- munity. “Just because one facility clos- ed does not mean services have been reduced,’’ Gibson said. “Since we all work out of one of- fice we now find ourselves. more to equitably — By A.P. McCredie _ News Reporter efficient in terms of holiday relief, so that when an officer is off for vacation we have more. officers available to pick up the absent of- ficer’s caseload,’’ she said. Gibson added that the younger probation officers now work in closer contact with more experi- enced officers, creating an en- vironment conducive to on-the- job-training. While the shift in locale has been good for the employees of the office, Gibson did admit that the travel time for those in West Vancouver seeking services has in- creased. Workers in the office are. trying to make it as convenient as possible for those with transporta- tion problems. To respond to the needs of the West Vancouver courts, a proba- tion officer from the North Van- couver office is in the West Van court building every Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The effects cf the consolidation will be reviewed in September.