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STORY
Mayor denies Surrey news censorship
Station says major crimes went unreported
Wednesday, September 25, 2002
It wasn't so long ago that Surrey was dubbed the car theft capital of North America.
Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum denied that he frequently steps in to stage-manage RCMP news releases.
RCMP media relations officer Cst. Tim Shields.
SURREY, B.C. -- It wasn't so long ago that Surrey was dubbed the car theft capital of North America and the mayor was trying to argue with the numbers.
Now it appears that there may have been efforts in Surrey to supress more negative news.
Some people are wondering if public safety is suffering as a result of this alleged practise.
BCTV News asked RCMP media relations spokesperson Constable Tim Shields why at least three serious crime incidents in recent weeks did not get reported to the media in the form of a news release as is usually the case.
On three separate occasions, guns were discharged and the public wasn't told about it. Two incidents involved gunfights and another incident involved a drive-by shooting.
Shields says it's impossible to report all the criminal events that take place in their jurisdiction given their limited resources.
Shields said the detachment handles 130,00 criminal cases a year and to report every incident would be impossible.
BCTV News has learned there may be another reason why these crimes went unreported.
Several high level sources told BCTV Newshour that Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum frequently steps in to stage-manage RCMP news releases.
McCallum flatly denied these allegations on camera.
One of BCTV's news sources said that the mayor was particularly upset with the so-called "House of Horrors" story about a Hell's Angels hangout in Surrey where victims were allegedly tortured.
The mayor was apparently upset with the details revealed in the RCMP news release and he told the police about his concerns over the kind of image these stories were affording Surrey.
The mayor denies that he has ever instructed the RCMP -- by any means -- to withhold news or updates.
Shields refused to comment on a question posed repeatedly by a reporter that asked whether he has ever been contacted by the mayor about withholding news to the media and the public.
© Copyright 2002 BCTV News on Global
STORY
Mayor denies Surrey news censorship
Station says major crimes went unreported
Wednesday, September 25, 2002
It wasn't so long ago that Surrey was dubbed the car theft capital of North America.
Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum denied that he frequently steps in to stage-manage RCMP news releases.
RCMP media relations officer Cst. Tim Shields.
SURREY, B.C. -- It wasn't so long ago that Surrey was dubbed the car theft capital of North America and the mayor was trying to argue with the numbers.
Now it appears that there may have been efforts in Surrey to supress more negative news.
Some people are wondering if public safety is suffering as a result of this alleged practise.
BCTV News asked RCMP media relations spokesperson Constable Tim Shields why at least three serious crime incidents in recent weeks did not get reported to the media in the form of a news release as is usually the case.
On three separate occasions, guns were discharged and the public wasn't told about it. Two incidents involved gunfights and another incident involved a drive-by shooting.
Shields says it's impossible to report all the criminal events that take place in their jurisdiction given their limited resources.
Shields said the detachment handles 130,00 criminal cases a year and to report every incident would be impossible.
BCTV News has learned there may be another reason why these crimes went unreported.
Several high level sources told BCTV Newshour that Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum frequently steps in to stage-manage RCMP news releases.
McCallum flatly denied these allegations on camera.
One of BCTV's news sources said that the mayor was particularly upset with the so-called "House of Horrors" story about a Hell's Angels hangout in Surrey where victims were allegedly tortured.
The mayor was apparently upset with the details revealed in the RCMP news release and he told the police about his concerns over the kind of image these stories were affording Surrey.
The mayor denies that he has ever instructed the RCMP -- by any means -- to withhold news or updates.
Shields refused to comment on a question posed repeatedly by a reporter that asked whether he has ever been contacted by the mayor about withholding news to the media and the public.
© Copyright 2002 BCTV News on Global