Editorials

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Crime can be beaten

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 03/13/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

winnipeg free press dale cummings edit dinky NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME FIGHTING March 13, 2010

There is no silver bullet in the battle against crime, but the residents of Point Douglas in Winnipeg's inner city have shown neighbourhoods can fight back and win. Three years ago, the community was plagued with violence, gangs and 32 crack houses. Today, the gangs and crack houses are gone, and people feel safe walking down the street.

Criminals are still a challenge, but they no longer rule or define the historic neighbourhood. Point Douglas activist Sel Burrows explains the dramatic turnaround in a column in today's View from the West (H11).

Fighting crime and anti-social behaviour begins with the realization that police and governments cannot solve every problem, but they can be partners and agents of change in communities that mobilize for action. That's what happened in Point Douglas.

A group of residents decided they had had enough and they rallied the neighbourhood. A phone line was started so people could report problems and a local newsletter was distributed. People who had never believed their complaints would be taken seriously now felt empowered.

Suddenly, police, city hall and the province were getting demands to clean up garbage and derelict housing, or close down drug operations or homes that were fronts for prostitution.

Working with the authority of the municipal Livability Bylaw and the provincial Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act, officials were able to force landlords to improve their properties, evict problem tenants and shut down centres of criminal activity. It was the criminal's turn to feel uncomfortable.

Burrows believes the strategy can be exported to other high-crime neighbourhoods, but success depends entirely on the willingness of local residents to get involved. Without a grassroots movement, police can't do much more than patrol the streets and make arrests.

Criminals need to know they will not be tolerated if they bring suspicion upon themselves by making too much noise, neglecting their properties or inviting too much traffic. People do have power. They just have to exercise it.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 13, 2010 A18

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