By Jim Mauro
Thunder Bay – Viewpoint and Analysis – The rate of violence in this city should be unacceptable, yet once again we are leading the way as the most violent city in the country.
This city continues to speak about spurring economic growth. A worthwhile goal for sure. But is it possible we continue to swim uphill because of our propensity to have a serious crime problem?
When you wish to attract doctors or other medical professionals to our city, is it possible as part of the decision-making process, they look at our crime rates? Would a doctor or a business owner bring their two young children here, or might they choose a safer city? I know what my decision would be.
This problem has been ignored for decades yet those responsible pay lip service to it. “Oh, it is only certain parts of town that you need to avoid”, or “those stats don’t reflect the true nature of crime in our city”. My favourite, “the person killed, and the accused were known to each other”.
News flash, this is what happens in most homicides.
Out of 42 surveyed cities we again are number one. Now we are not always number 1, but you can count on Thunder Bay to always compete for the title. It is not like we have had a consistent period where we have been better than 20th. Is anyone okay with this?
I often write articles on policing, not because other topics do not interest me. It is because it always seems like there is something to write about when it comes to crime, our justice system or the lack of accountability for those individuals tasked with making this community safer.
It would be easy to lay this problem at the door of the Police Chief but he has only been here for two years, and this is not a new problem. Maybe we can blame the officers themselves, those 8, 10, or 12 (if we are lucky), officers on the road tasked with keeping our city safe.
I mentioned this previously but the days of “deterring” crime by having an adequate number of officers on the road has been over for at least two decades.
Now there is no use speaking about a problem if you are not going to offer any suggestions so with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek, let me offer up some possibilities and you the reader, the voter, the citizen, can decide which ones we can do without.
The guns and gang unit can be disbanded, the unit specifically tasked with targeting those individuals bringing guns to our city and operating in groups by taking over homes and using them as drug houses. How about the ROPE (Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement) squad, designed to go after repeat offenders. Are you aware that not two weeks ago, this unit attempted to arrest a well-known individual who jumped back into his truck and rammed the police cars at a gas station while members of the public were close by?
When he is caught, I am sure our “tough justice” system will give him a stern talking to.
We can get rid of our domestic violence and elder abuse officers. Those victims can just deal with the issues themselves. Our scenes of crime unit can be disbanded but being the number 1 violent city in the country, it would seem there are lots of crime scenes that would go unprocessed. That might lead to even more people getting away with acts of violence.
Are there things that can be done to provide better service, I believe so. When I ran for council last election, I suggested that we hire retired officers to deal with scenes of crime security, security for patients at the hospitals, or other areas that could free up officers and get them back on the road. Our media, except this one, did not cover that idea, with the absurd explanation that if they covered that media release, they would have to cover other people running for election. NO. Cover those willing to put out a policy on crime, taxation, infrastructure or anything of importance. Force those looking for your vote to take a position on something, anything because few if any did.
Last election, I watched one candidate be asked a question about funding a new police station and the soccer plex. In two minutes, that candidate did not mention either building.
As I have stated in the past, I believe that much of this issue belongs at the doorstep of City Hall who refuse to become involved in making this city safer. Why has no one asked council members their position on crime? How about asking them what they plan to do to reduce violence in our city.
To the credit of the police service, they are hiring more special constables, which retired officers can certainly fill. It took three years to get here but it is a start.
To combat our serious violence issue, it might be necessary to determine why we rank so high. Some of the simple reasons are the drug/alcohol rates that plague our city and have for decades.
But you cannot solve a problem as serious as this without a coordinated effort supported by both the provincial and federal governments. I continue to be amazed that we have people in the cabinet room of these governments, but our problems continue every year.
Our poor ranking also exists while the overall crime severity index has been dropping. What is Thunder Bay not doing that other communities are? Are there issues unique to Thunder Bay that need to be addressed to get this under control?
We also should not underestimate just how much other parts of our justice system play in our reclaiming this title. Once the arrest is made, by and large the officer’s role is done. It is the courts, the crown attorneys and judges in pushing offenders back onto the street repeatedly that play a major role.
The individual that rammed the police cars mentioned earlier; would you be surprised that he had a criminal history. Can I tell you the story about a woman who had 59 charges against her and a criminal record that could fill a novel, whose charges were ALL dismissed by the crown. They said she was a disadvantaged woman.
Do crown attorney’s answer for their decisions? Certainly not to the public. If they are accountable, it would be news to most police officers because there is no lack of accountability for officers who are reacting in the moment and often held to an impossible standard. Yet here are charges, many for theft that are just tossed. The victims of these thefts, well, too bad, just accept your loss.
How about the thefts from stores, or liquor stores that routinely happen while the security guard is told not to intervene. Theft from these stores rarely leads to charges and guess what, the criminals know this. And “shockingly” (sarcasm), theft is on the rise across the country. Why wouldn’t it be, when governments and the legal system could care less.
One local small store owner tried to intervene with someone taking a case of beer. The criminal showed him a knife, and the owner backed away. That is now a robbery. Is it treated as such? Do people go to jail any more for some of these crimes? Very few do and the storeowner is just expected to accept this loss.
This story was on page one of our local paper. I am sure it will be discussed for a moment or two in the coffee shop and will be discarded like most stories are. Most will not care, until they themselves become the victim, then the demands to do something will be heard.
In the meantime, officers who may have had to fight or have been injured by those they are trying to arrest, sit helplessly as judges and crowns go out of there way to make sure people do not spend any time in jail. I recall one specific incident with an officer in a fight for two minutes with no help coming. He was finally able to subdue the individual. The penalty for the guy, one month, and he would likely serve less than two weeks. That was 23 years ago. I expect the penalty is even less now.
These crime problems are exacerbated by the governments catch and release program where people are committing crimes while already charged with other crimes. Too often judges and crowns just push people through like it is an assembly line. Would you like to know what the penalty can be when someone breaks into your home? LIFE!!
I am not making that up. That law was likely written when breaking into someone’s home was a serious violation. I do not have specific stats to provide to you but in my years with the police service, I do not recall anyone getting a jail sentence for one break and enter or even several. It seems, some crimes are not important to our justice system.
In the meantime, the crown attorney in Ottawa wants to send Tamara Lynch to jail for 7 years for her role in the trucker’s convoy. In my opinion, our justice system is broken.
I will leave the trucker’s convoy issue for now but to suggest that this women deserves a 7 year prison sentence when others possessing child porn, committing dozens of thefts, committing serious assaults, or being convicted of manslaughter do not get this kind of sentence, should force you to ask what really is at the core of this request by the crown’s office. Given the normal sentences imposed for far more serious acts, Ms. Lynch at most should see no jail time.
And now our provincial government may have imposed new obligations on landlords where criminal activity is taking place. How about we concentrate a bit more on those committing the crimes, instead of imposing more demands on landlords who already have next to no rights under the current legislation.
Everyone wants Thunder Bay to grow and prosper. One of the ways to do that, is making sure people ARE safe in this city. Whether or not that ever changes, won’t be because of the officer on the street but by you, demanding the appropriate action by those who should be accountable. Until then, we will continue to compete for the TITLE, a title no one should want. We likely will need a larger display case for our infamous trophy collection. Just a thought
