As promised in my previous blog posting, here are some more facts and commentary on the Star’s misleading series they ran last month – “Why Getting Tough on Crime is Toughest on the Taxpayer”, Toronto Star, Jul.19 , 2008.
An open letter to the editor of the Toronto Star:
July 28th, 2008
Dear Editors,
In an eight part series of reports and opinion on crime and the prison system that began July 19th, the Star has done the Canadian public a great disservice. The Star’s error, which approaches gross negligence, in publishing this report, stems from the misleading use of statistics as well as a faulty premise.
First the statistics – mentioned repeatedly in the report is the overall drop in crime rates since 1975. Actually violent crimes have increased from 572 per 100,000 in 1977 to 951 per 100,000 – almost double! Combined rates of violent and property crimes have decreased only slightly from 5,038 per 100,000 to 4,539 – about 10%. Further, what the Star does not report is that crime rates had already increased from 1950 to 1975. The Star assumes, incorrectly, that the 1975 rates were acceptable and represented a safe community. Far from it.
Instead of percentages, let’s look at the real human impact: at the current combined crime rate for Toronto of 3,209 per 100,000, more than 80,000 Torontonians – men, women and children – will be the victims of crime this year! But the Star calls us “overly frightened”. That is criminal. The Star’s statistics do not reveal the sense that there is also an increasing number of unreported crimes, from a public that has given up on the system protecting them. Similarly, the Star’s focus on prison inmates and persons charged with crimes do not reflect the number of crimes committed by first offenders before they are apprehended by police.
The Star’s major premise is that longer jail terms are no deterrent to crime. The people have news for the Star, incarceration is not meant to deter. It is the underpinning of justice, that is, punishment and penalty. People have the the right to a reasonable expectation of safety through the imprisonment of criminals. Our justice system guarantees this. The punishment of imprisonment removes the offender from society to a place where they can do no harm to the public for the term of the sentence. Longer sentences improve our safety absolutely. Even the limits in personal freedom imposed on criminals through parole are not meant to deter, but to protect the public from re-offenders.
The Star’s statistics do not report why rehabilitation is failing in the federal prison system. Statistics will not reveal the answer to the longstanding question since 20th century prison reform began – Can offenders be rehabilitated in prison? How many of the billions in cost of federal prisons is spent on inneffective rehab programs? This doesn’t mean you reduce incarceration rates – it means you change the method of rehabilitation. Perhaps move it out of the prison system entirely and make it the keystone of our early release parole programs. Forgiveness and reconciliation does not mean we abandon our rights to personal safety for our families.
If the Toronto Star, as it claims, were truly the voice of the public, they would seek information that would benefit victims of crime. A victim of child abuse, for example, is neither a taxpayer, nor a voter. They care not for your statistics.
Andy Coats
Toronto, On
Aug.8th. NOTE – Re. the Star’s recent headline, “Anger Mounts in Girl’s Death”, how would the Star suggest the accused, if found guilty, should be punished? Katelynn Sampson’s life and death is crying out for justice.
Filed under: Advocacy, Christianity, church, crime and justice, News Commentary | Tagged: community, court, crime, jail, judge, justice, parole, penetentiary, poverty, prison, project417, punishment, safety, sentence | Comments Off on The Toronto Star Dazzles Us with Crime Statistics
Intelligarde Security’s Mission: Arrest Homeless, Panhandlers, Referred to as Dirty Bums
A Chinese Gentleman Panhandling on Spadina
Sunmedia, Toronto – Aug.21, 2008 Toronto Sun, by Ian Robertson, Headline: Dirty bum gets tossed–
“A panhandler who refused to leave private property after messing his shorts was among 11 rousted at the start of a second week of controversial Chinatown security patrols. The beggar, who refused to stop appealing to passersby for money near Spadina Ave. after he “soiled his silks,” was arrested by Intelligarde Security officers Tuesday, firm founder Ross McLeod said…
“Toronto Police Association president Dave Wilson is quoted as saying [private guards] lack the training, dedication and experience of cops. Unlike police, an unarmed uniformed guard can incite people to fight “and we don’t want to be showing up at incidents and having to worry about security guards as well.”… [end of excerpt ]
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Here at Project417, I have almost ten years of experience doing outreach to the homeless on the Spadina Chinatown streets. The accompanying photo was taken by me on Spadina, just south of Kensington Market, to illustrate the growing number of elderly Chinese-Canadians who have been forced by community circumstances to resort to panhandling. Of course homelessness knows no race and the homeless panhandlers in Chinatown come from all communties right across the country, but there are a growing number of seniors in Chinatown who appear to have no visible means of support and have taken to the streets.
The threat to public safety through the presence of hired private security firms is real. As well as the assault on human rights, not just of the homeless, but the public who are being confronted and intimidated by what amounts to uniformed thugs on public city sidewalks. Chinatown BIA President, Stephen Chan claims the homeless are blocking doors, aggressively panhandling passers by and even says they are responsible for thefts from cars. The BIA is blind to the real crime problems in their own community and are misguided in targetting the homeless – my next post will outline alarming crime trends in the Spadina Chinatown as well as first hand encounters with Intelligarde bullies.
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Filed under: Advocacy, Christianity, church, crime, crime and justice, homelessness, News, News Commentary | Tagged: arrest, beggar, BIA, bum, charity, chinatown, chinese, donate, dundas, guard, harass, homeless, intelligarde, justice, panhandle, panhandler, patrol, police, policing, poor, poverty, private, project417, roust, security, social, spadina, sun, toronto | 4 Comments »