Surrey hits new record with 22nd murder of 2013, task force established

Surrey has recorded its 22nd reported murder of the year, breaking the previous record of 21 back in 2005.

On Monday, RCMP investigators discovered the body of a dead male inside a property located on the 12000-block of 99 Avenue in Whalley. Police were called in to respond to a reported disturbance. The man has not been identified and is not believed to be a resident of the house.

Monday’s discovery breaks a previous record set in 2005 when 21 murders were recorded in Surrey. There was another spike four years later in 2009 when 20 murders were recorded. Prior to this year’s murder high, there were 13 murders recorded in 2010, 15 in 2011 and 9 in 2012.

To date, much of the city’s soaring homicide rate has been associated with drug and gang activity. Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts has initiated a special joint task force of criminologists, educators and police officers to look into the concerning patterns of homicidal activity.

Prior to Monday’s incident, Surrey’s previous murder was recorded on November 9 when a targeted home invasion turned deadly.

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