Winnipeg leads nation in violent crime rate Winnipeg is once again the homicide capital among large Canadian cities, while Manitoba tops all provinces.
The city, which has repeatedly ranked first in that category in past years for cities with more than 200,000 people, had the highest homicide rate again in 2009, according to Statistics Canada.
Mayor Sam Katz said the city and its police force are doing everything possible to combat the rise of violent crime.
"No one's saying its a good situation [but] by the same token, you have to try and ask yourself, 'what can they do to address a random shooting or a random stabbing or some violence in the home where people know each other?'' he said.
"What is it that you'd like them to do?"
Sociologists point to inner-city poverty in Winnipeg that leads teens to get into trouble. There is also a strong gang presence.
"None of us has managed to hit on the recipe for the silver bullet that is going to make these (numbers) go down," said Marc Pellerin, vice-president of the Winnipeg Police Association, the union that represents front-line officers.
"The criminal element here in Winnipeg is getting indoctrinated at a very young age, and if the habit is created at the age of 10, 11 or 12, it's going to be a long, hard road trying to get it turned around."
Crime decreased across country
Statistics Canada on Tuesday released its annual statistics on police-reported crime across the country.
Overall, the volume and severity of crime reported to police declined for the sixth consecutive year.
Nearly 2.2 million crimes were reported to police in 2009, about 43,000 fewer than in 2008. And there were about 77,000 fewer reported crimes in 2008 compared to 2007.
However, some violent crimes did increase. There were 806 attempted murders in Canada in 2009, 85 more than in 2008.
Increases were also reported in the rate of extortion, firearms offences and criminal harassment.
There were 610 homicides in 2009, about the same as the previous year. The homicide rate has been relatively stable for the past decade and well below the peak during the mid-1970s.
Winnipeg's rate of 4.1 slayings per 100,000 residents was the highest homicide rate in 2009 among major cities. The city also placed first for robberies and vehicle thefts, and notched the third-highest rate of break-and-enters behind Regina and Saskatoon.
Youth crime rates, which Statistics Canada tracks by province instead of city, were highest in Manitoba for homicides, serious assaults and robbery.
It is the third consecutive year Manitoba's homicide rate has topped the list.
As a whole, the crime severity index (CSI), which measures the seriousness of incidents reported to police, declined four per cent last year and was down 22 per cent from 1999, Statistics Canada said.
The drop was consistent across the country, with only Manitoba and Nunavut reporting increases.
Abbotsford, British Columbia, had the highest rate among smaller centers.
Oh, Judy W-L is smiling over this one. Although any person as mayor would be in the same boat - it's difficult to curb violence, criminals aren't normally made overnight, it takes years of upbringing to get there. Our entire national criminal justice system needs to be overhauled, not to mention we have to start getting some people to stop breeding when they aren't ready for children. That's the heart of this problem, and it's not an easy solve. I mean, we have licenses for driving and practically everything else, why not have a license to breed? _________________ The lazier you are today, the more productive you'll be tomorrow.
Our entire national criminal justice system needs to be overhauled.
Here's the rub: provinces with a lower crime rate are governed by the same Criminal Code.
Getting 'tougher' on crime as most people would like to see it will require more jail space. There aren't any jails being built, and I'll be very surprised if that happens in the near future.
I don't think more jails and tougher sentences will accomplish very much, except for giving the public an 'illusion' of safety. As you pointed out, it's the root causes that need to be addressed.
But if they REALLY wanted more jails, a cheap alternative would be renovating some of the old buildings downtown.
Our entire national criminal justice system needs to be overhauled.
Here's the rub: provinces with a lower crime rate are governed by the same Criminal Code.
Getting 'tougher' on crime as most people would like to see it will require more jail space. There aren't any jails being built, and I'll be very surprised if that happens in the near future.
I don't think more jails and tougher sentences will accomplish very much, except for giving the public an 'illusion' of safety. As you pointed out, it's the root causes that need to be addressed.
But if they REALLY wanted more jails, a cheap alternative would be renovating some of the old buildings downtown.
Good post. Society doesn't need more tax dollars going towards the abyss especially when results won't justify the extra spending.
I love how crime has been going down since the early 90's and we have the dinosaur Toews giving people the old "things ain't they way they used to be" rhetoric.
Our entire national criminal justice system needs to be overhauled.
Here's the rub: provinces with a lower crime rate are governed by the same Criminal Code.
Getting 'tougher' on crime as most people would like to see it will require more jail space. There aren't any jails being built, and I'll be very surprised if that happens in the near future.
I don't think more jails and tougher sentences will accomplish very much, except for giving the public an 'illusion' of safety. As you pointed out, it's the root causes that need to be addressed.
But if they REALLY wanted more jails, a cheap alternative would be renovating some of the old buildings downtown.
I know it's not PC to say this, but I will because I don't believe in political correctness - it's the aboriginal youth that is driving up the problems in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. They are taught now at an early age that the reason for their problems is due to the white man, residential schools, broken promises etc are all part of the problem - it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Parents aren't responsible for looking after their kids because of the legacy of residential schools, and there is no kind of accountability. I mean we have parents from war-torn countries that have endured things we could only imagine in nightmares, and they don't get any kind of slack if they abuse their children, so why is the residential school card acceptable in the court system, in society as a whole - but ESPECIALLY in the aboriginal community. I mean, no matter how hard your life was, there is NO excuse for harming a child. The Jewish community went through the Holocaust, came out literally flat broke, establishing a new home in a foreign land, subjected to discrimination for jobs, loans etc. and we don't see 1/100th of the problems that the aboriginal population is seeing.
It seems like the aboriginal leadership are trying to live in two separate eras, but can't seem to move forward. There is all kinds of talk of what would the elders do, traditional ways of life, getting back to our roots (that's my favourite) - but this the problem. No one else in society expects to get back to their roots - it's exactly like a high school QB trying to relive their championship game - you can't keep living your life like that. I mean, I respect the opinions of my grandparents (when they were still alive) and my senior relatives, but their morals and life experiences are much different than mine.
Just because my grandfather was a farmer, doesn't mean that I'll be best suited in life as a farmer, but the aboriginal leadership, and especially our educational facilities seem to cater towards this traditional ways of life. I'd like to be a knight, but those times have come and gone, and so has traditional hunting and fishing I believe - I mean I don't expect to see many volunteers asking to leave their homes on the reserves to go out and live in tiipiis in 2010. This was a hard life, and I don't expect anyone in today's society to even think about living like that.
These solutions will never be solved financially, it has to be internally generated from the aboriginals themselves and not from the rest of society. I know that residential schools and all the other absolute atrocities that have happened to the first nations over the many years was not acceptable nor should it be forgotten. However, the aboriginal community themselves have to pick themselves up and restore the pride they once had. I know many reserves are trying very hard to restore this pride, and some are already there. I just don't know how long it will take to get the disproportional poverty, sex trade workers, gangs, broken families, drug & alcohol addictions, etc. with all bureaucratic nonsense, false hopes and excuses from both sides going on. _________________ The lazier you are today, the more productive you'll be tomorrow.
I know it's not PC to say this, but I will because I don't believe in political correctness - it's the aboriginal youth that is driving up the problems in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. They are taught now at an early age that the reason for their problems is due to the white man, residential schools, broken promises etc are all part of the problem - it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I work with a lot of Aboriginal youth in the inner city, and the vast majority of them have never heard the words "residential school." The problem is a lot more simple than a huge racial/cultural divide. What I see are divided families and some culture shock for people/families moving into the city from reserves. It is a vicious cycle of broken families, same as it is for most marginalized groups in North America. It is really more of a poverty issue than anything. The answer really is education and employment. Aboriginal kids aren't more sociopathic per capita than kids from any other race, so why are they so overrepresented in the youth centre? It is because of factors outside of the kids control, a lot of them really don't have a chance. I'd rather invest a lot into providing as much opportunity as possible than warehousing people and draining all of society.
And yes, there will still be some that fall through the cracks, and there will always be crime. But what we are doing now, reacting to the problem after it happens, hiring more and more police officers etc, does nothing to prevent crime or lessen the burden on all of us. _________________ Good is the enemy of great.
I think what it really comes down to is kids need their parents to steer them in the right path. Aboriginal or not, if a kid doesn't have a strong foundation and someone to lean on, then most likely they'll go off and do nasty things. It is kinda sad to say because I'm a young parent (25) and I have a 2 year old, but I've accepted this responsibility. _________________ The Movie Man
I know it's not PC to say this, but I will because I don't believe in political correctness - it's the aboriginal youth that is driving up the problems in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. They are taught now at an early age that the reason for their problems is due to the white man, residential schools, broken promises etc are all part of the problem - it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I work with a lot of Aboriginal youth in the inner city, and the vast majority of them have never heard the words "residential school." The problem is a lot more simple than a huge racial/cultural divide. What I see are divided families and some culture shock for people/families moving into the city from reserves. It is a vicious cycle of broken families, same as it is for most marginalized groups in North America. It is really more of a poverty issue than anything. The answer really is education and employment. Aboriginal kids aren't more sociopathic per capita than kids from any other race, so why are they so overrepresented in the youth centre? It is because of factors outside of the kids control, a lot of them really don't have a chance. I'd rather invest a lot into providing as much opportunity as possible than warehousing people and draining all of society.
And yes, there will still be some that fall through the cracks, and there will always be crime. But what we are doing now, reacting to the problem after it happens, hiring more and more police officers etc, does nothing to prevent crime or lessen the burden on all of us.
I don't think the answer is education and employment - initiatives have been going on for at least 15-20 years to get aboriginal people in university, get good government jobs, etc. but the problem is still here. Further, I don't believe that aboriginal peoples are in any more of a culture shock as an immigrant family coming from basically any non-english speaking country, but particularly from the middle east & Africa. I'd be willing to wager that these people don't have much money either, and they have 1/100th of the support that aboriginal peoples gets.
The problem is the upbringings. Like viperj stated - it's the parents that have to step up to the plate. Instead of taking responsibility for anything, all I ever hear from the Chiefs are residential schools this, geonicide that. Their culture is changing - but go to Africa and you'll see the same thing with tribal communities. Their way of life wasn't a Utopia like they try to perpetrate through the media.
How do you get parents to step up to the plate? You have to stop making excuses for them, plain & simple. Immigrant families have much the same problems, but yet the work ethic of these people are so much different. I think the reason behind this is the lack of handouts and excuses aren't tolerated by society.
I know the Grand Chief just said a few days ago that the Indian Act needs to be repealed. He even said himself that aboriginals need to ween themselves off of the government funding. Currently, most of the "answers" given by the chiefs is always more funding & business development. That's fine for those people running the businesses, but the ones that aren't working won't benefit whatsoever. Sure they'll get more money, but it won't address the real root of their problems - and that's what the aboriginal people need to start addressing. No form of government handouts is going to fix this mentality. _________________ The lazier you are today, the more productive you'll be tomorrow.
It's not just one problem. It is parental. It is lack of education. It is a pi$$ poor judicial system. It is a corrupt leadership issue. It is an Indian Act issue. It is an entitlement mentality issue. It is a welfare issue. It is an employment issue. It is a poor work ethic issue. It is a social issue. It is an isolation issue. It is a gang issue. It is a moral issue.
I can't say we can point a finger at any one issue and say there. That's the problem. Fix that and all will be well.
We need greater leadership at the grassroots level. We need peeps to be more responsible for their actions. We need to hold people more accountable. We need to end the INAC and all hand-outs. We need to provide an education system that works up to and including high school and trades.
I know I've grossly oversimplified matters, and I've likely missed much, but that's how I see it. _________________ You can agree with me or you can be wrong...
It's not just one problem. It is parental. It is lack of education. It is a pi$$ poor judicial system. It is a corrupt leadership issue. It is an Indian Act issue. It is an entitlement mentality issue. It is a welfare issue. It is an employment issue. It is a poor work ethic issue. It is a social issue. It is an isolation issue. It is a gang issue. It is a moral issue.
I can't say we can point a finger at any one issue and say there. That's the problem. Fix that and all will be well.
We need greater leadership at the grassroots level. We need peeps to be more responsible for their actions. We need to hold people more accountable. We need to end the INAC and all hand-outs. We need to provide an education system that works up to and including high school and trades.
I know I've grossly oversimplified matters, and I've likely missed much, but that's how I see it.
I agree with you 100%. The difficulty with education is that you have to get these kids to attend high school, why bother attending high school when you get housing & money provided for nothing? All the good jobs given out on the reserve don't require any kind of qualifications besides being "in" with the current chief. In fact, I believe at Peguis they had hired a school trustee who hadn't even graduated from High School. That position pays almost $100K there TAX-FREE. One of five school trustees, for a reserve of 7,500 people.
The above example is only one of what goes on all the time on reserves. They say that aboriginal children get less money on average than the rest of the province - well when $500K of your budget goes to school trustees we have an issue. Not to mention that due to the size of the schools obviously highly technical (and usually expensive) programs can't be offered just due to low enrollment.
But instead of blaming it on the system - not having any job prospects on the reserve, an entitlement prospective on life - the reserve blames it back on the government - that the kids aren't getting enough money. _________________ The lazier you are today, the more productive you'll be tomorrow.
The biggest problem is total lack of leadership and foresight. That is on the part of all the politicians, Aboriginal or otherwise. Katz knows if he hires 100 more police officers every year, even though that actually does nothing to reduce crime as these stats prove, he'll get the votes he needs for another 4 years. He doesn't care about doing the right thing, only the right thing to get re-elected by the 30% of people who actually vote. _________________ Good is the enemy of great.
I don't think the answer is education and employment - initiatives have been going on for at least 15-20 years to get aboriginal people in university, get good government jobs, etc. but the problem is still here. Further, I don't believe that aboriginal peoples are in any more of a culture shock as an immigrant family coming from basically any non-english speaking country, but particularly from the middle east & Africa. I'd be willing to wager that these people don't have much money either, and they have 1/100th of the support that aboriginal peoples gets.
You might want to pay attention to the fastest growing segment of criminal activity in Winnipeg and other Canadian cities. The children of immigrants who face many of the same issues as the Aboriginal community, mostly poverty. I'm not sure what you think Aboriginal people living in cities get. The system is definetly broken in terms of the Indian Act, but they don't have any more supports than immigrant families, which is another group I work with quite a bit right now.
The home life is a big issue. But that is all the more reason to fund programs outside the home. The issue is consistency. Most of these kids don't have structure in their lives at home. They need to find that somewhere. Some find it in school or sport, most end up finding it in a gang. Consistency doesn't exist with the programs that are funded. Even successful programs, like many gang diversion programs that had been operating in Winnipeg since the late 1990s and just got their funding pulled, face the prospect of losing their funding at any second. Where did those young gang members end up going once that program was cancelled due to having their funding pulled? Probably back to the street.
We can all sit around and whine about crime stats, but no one is willing to deal with the problem, so it will continue. _________________ Good is the enemy of great.
Katz knows if he hires 100 more police officers every year, even though that actually does nothing to reduce crime as these stats prove, he'll get the votes he needs for another 4 years.
How is this a Katz issue? Or a Winnipeg municipal issue? Winnipeg is not responsible for justice. Nor is Winnipeg responsible for reserves. Or immigration for that matter.
By all means let's blame the politicos. But lets at least blame those that are to blame. _________________ You can agree with me or you can be wrong...
You might want to pay attention to the fastest growing segment of criminal activity in Winnipeg and other Canadian cities. The children of immigrants who face many of the same issues as the Aboriginal community, mostly poverty. I'm not sure what you think Aboriginal people living in cities get. The system is definetly broken in terms of the Indian Act, but they don't have any more supports than immigrant families, which is another group I work with quite a bit right now.
We can stick our collective heads in the sand from now until the end of time. That does not lesson the fact that the majority of crime in Winnipeg and Manitoba is perpetrated by mostly one group. And I'm here to say it is not immigrants.
Admittedly Canada can do more for new immigrants but frankly I'm not worried about that group. They do very well in becoming good taxpaying members of Canadian society. _________________ You can agree with me or you can be wrong...
Katz knows if he hires 100 more police officers every year, even though that actually does nothing to reduce crime as these stats prove, he'll get the votes he needs for another 4 years.
How is this a Katz issue? Or a Winnipeg municipal issue? Winnipeg is not responsible for justice. Nor is Winnipeg responsible for reserves. Or immigration for that matter.
By all means let's blame the politicos. But lets at least blame those that are to blame.
It is an issue for every level of government. We are talking about the crime rate in WINNIPEG, are we not? Katz's answer to make everyone feel warm and fuzzy is to hire police officers and $12 an hour "cadets." Judging by the numbers over the last number of years that the police have seen increased funding for different programs and personnel, nothing has changed.
All 3 levels and Aboriginal groups fund programs meant to prevent crime. All 3 levels have different responsibilities when it comes to crime, both responding to and prevention. _________________ Good is the enemy of great.
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