B.C. is facing a “dramatic” increase in violent crime according to Abbotsford MLA Mike de Jong. “I think uptick is a bit of an understatement,” de Jong says. “To the point where people in Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley, right across British Columbia, no longer feel safe in their community, and that is unacceptable.” De Jong says that the first thing that needs to be done to address the increase in crimes is to accept that there’s a major issue. Abbotsford’s most tenured MLA alleges the current government under former Attorney General Eby has not done so, and as such, is not placing public safety on top of their priority list. “An important feature of the justice system is the presumption of innocence, and that is something I believe in,” says de Jong, also a former defense lawyer and prosecutor. “But when someone has been charged and convicted 10, 20, 30, 40 times in the last year, there is a real pattern. Asking for that person to be detained in jail pending their next trial is not unreasonable. And is something that unfortunately has not taken place.”

To hear more of de Jong’s comments on the growing crime, listen to the full interview below.