In an attempt to deter potential criminals from breaking the law on its waterfront, the city of White Rock has moved to hire security guards to patrol the area into the wee hours of the morning.The move was made following a series of violent attacks near the pier, which shook the tight-knit community and put a damper on tourism.During a city council meeting on July 29, it was decided that the guards would be brought in for a trial period from August 1 to September 31 to patrol the area in pairs from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. every day of the week. The RCMP already has a presence along the waterfront from Wednesday to Saturday from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.While the vote was unanimous, a number of members, including Ernie Klassen, made it clear that the introduction of security guards was merely an "initial temporary move." He noted that the proposal to install a security camera network along the waterfront was still a top priority. Around $18,000 was approved for the pilot project.There was debate over whether money should be spent on security guards or additional bylaw officers, with Councilor Elaine Cheung advocating for the former."I've heard multiple stories where female workers, they get off-shift at midnight, they get scared," she explained. "We have a parking lot [with] four floors, some disturbances there, so if our purpose is, basically, to have physical presence and deter criminal activities, it would make a lot more sense to hire security guards rather than have bylaw officers down there to write tickets and educate [people]."Mayor Megan Knight agreed that security guards were a good first step, but noted that bylaw officers were better when it came to dishing out penalties on rule-breakers."If we're seriously looking at protection for our residents," she said, "we might get more out of bylaw officers down the road, because at least they can ticket; they have more powers than just a security guard ... A security guard can't enforce our bylaws.""So maybe this council, when we come to budget time, we should look at the numbers for bylaw officers," she added, "but for the time being I'll support the motion as is because we need whatever we can down there."The city has faced calls to act from residents and visitors alike following a particularly violent first few months of the year. In February, for example, four people were shot and left in serious condition just blocks from the water. Just two months later, one man was injured and another was killed in two stabbings near the pier just days apart.
