Surrey, B.C. home to too many dangerous sex offenders, says mayor

The province says it is reviewing how B.C. Corrections and police notify the public when a dangerous sex offender is released from prison, amid concerns from Surrey's mayor and Board of Trade that their city is home to too many dangerous sex offenders who have earned release from prison.

In a post on the City of Surrey website, Mayor Brenda Locke said she was writing both federal and provincial ministers responsible for public safety to demand a "comprehensive review of the laws pertaining to sentencing, release, and monitoring of dangerous sex offenders with a high risk of re-offending."

Locke pointed to three alerts issued by the Surrey RCMP in the past six weeks about recently released sex offenders now living in Surrey, and called the situation "unconscionable."

On May 17, Surrey RCMP posted a "public interest notification" about sex offender Ezaz Razak, saying he "represents a serious and imminent risk to vulnerable women and intimate partners." Razak served time in a federal prison for sexually assaulting two women in 2017 and has completed his sentence. 

In April, Surrey RCMP issued two notifications, naming Michael Popek and Leonard Ramstead as dangerous sex offenders now living in Surrey. Both men received statutory release from prison and are subject to release conditions, monitoring and long term supervision orders.

On Tuesday, the Surrey Board of Trade released a letter echoing Locke's. In it, president and CEO Anita Huberman expressed "profound concern and frustration regarding the recent release of yet another dangerous sex offender into our community."

'Hurts the brand' of Surrey

The letter calls for strengthened sentencing laws, enhanced monitoring systems for high-risk offenders, community safety assessments and transparent communication between law enforcement agencies and the public regarding high-risk offenders in the community.

Huberman said having dangerous sex offenders in the community "hurts the brand" of Surrey.

An email from the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General said B.C. Corrections has no authority over where an individual chooses to reside, "nor can they insist that an individual access the supports and services that are available to them upon release, unless a specific location, treatment or condition is ordered by the court."

The ministry said that police and B.C. Corrections have different processes for assessing whether a public notification is issued about an offender who is being released, and that criminal sentencing laws are the jurisdiction of the federal government.

Canada's Privacy Act allows for the personal information of an offender to be publicized by a government institution if it is deemed "the public interest in disclosure clearly outweighs any invasion of privacy that could result from the disclosure."