West Vancouver Police Department are urging parents to talk to their children after a substantial increase in youth-related violence in the Ambleside and Park Royal areas.
In recent months, the West Vancouver Police have seen an increase in police incidents that involved negative police contacts with youth. Many of these contacts are occurring in the evenings and weekends around the Ambleside and Park Royal areas, West Vancouver Police say.
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There have been seven bear spray incidents, two files involving knives, and one involving an imitation firearm. Among these files, there have also been several drug and alcohol related files.
Officers are finding young people carrying bear spray that they say is for protection, but use of the spray tends to make the community more, not less dangerous, police say. “Bear spray is highly pressurized so it can deter a large animal such as a bear, but if used on humans, it could cause serious injury. If bear spray is used against another person or used for the purpose of harming another individual, it would be considered a prohibited weapon. Other charges could include assault with a weapon,” police warn.
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“If youth are needing bear spray or knives for protection, it is time that we start asking who they are hanging out with and what they are doing with their time,” says Cst. Nicole Braithwaite. “If your child is going to be hanging out at Park Royal or Ambleside, we urge you to have an open and honest conversation with them about why they are congregating there. These places are becoming less of a haven for families and more of a place where we see an increase of violence especially in the early to late evenings.”
West Vancouver Police will continue to deploy extra officers in these areas to assist in keep the West Vancouver community safe.
Youths at Park Royal around 8:30 PM and onward a group of us were sitting finishing our coffee at Starbucks. Outside store was closed. Youths taking carts from whole foods, shoppers drug Mart, pushing them down the road and the sidewalk with people inside the card. Tipping over laughing and leaving carts there, when mentioned. What they are doing is wrong. They continue on in the carts and then just drop them off by the road, the other night I’ll have to go out of my vehicle at the lights and remove a cart so I could make a left hand turn at the corner of Starbucks and shoppers drug Mart, the youths have no respect and no regard for the people they may run into as they are playing around vandalizing the carts, these youths behavior need to made accounsble for their behaviour
Continue we enjoy the communication
I agree with the WV Police in that this is a
matter for parents. If parents ignore this problem then it no doubt will become a serious police issue. It is too late to talk to the kids then. Do it now! Parents also sometimes forget that they are still in charge of their young. Stand strong!