Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Local leaders needed
There have been killings, rapes and shootings in the West End before -- lots of them -- but nothing like the series of horrifying events that unfolded this week. It started on Sunday with the brutal sexual assault of a six-year-old girl, followed by a gang war that left one teenager dead, another wounded and two young girls also injured by gunfire. The fact that the suspects in the shootings are also teenagers is just as disturbing.
There's nothing to compare it to in the city's history and it has traumatized not only the families affected by the violence, but the entire community. Something has to be done, but what?
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Let's start by acknowledging the obvious. There are no quick and easy fixes, but there are useful precedents from around the world on how crime-ridden communities took control of their fates. One of them can be found in our own Point Douglas neighbourhood, which showed ordinary people can fight back.
Just three years ago, it was plagued with violence, gangs and 32 crack houses. A group of residents rallied the neighbourhood and established a system that made it easy for people to report problems. Police, city hall and the province were suddenly swamped with demands to clean up garbage and derelict housing, or close down drug operations or homes that were fronts for prostitution and crime.
Working with the authority of the municipal Livability Bylaw and the provincial Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act, officers shut down centres of criminal activity and forced landlords to clean up their properties and evict problem tenants. All of a sudden, it was the criminal who felt uncomfortable.
Point Douglas still has crime, but the gangs and crack houses are gone and people feel safe walking the streets.
The West End needs to follow this model.
A critical first step toward that end occurred Friday when about 65 members of various community organizations met at the West End Cultural Centre and organized a rally for Tuesday. The aim is to begin the process of uniting the community, but ultimately it will be up to local moms and dads to take on leadership roles.
The West End faces challenges Point Douglas does not -- it's much larger geographically and the community is intersected by several busy streets that are popular with prostitutes and drug dealers, as well as criminals from other areas of town -- so it may require special resources.
The police have promised to beef up patrols as well as turn up the heat on gangs, but these are largely symbolic gestures, the greatest benefit of which is to bring down stress levels in the neighbourhood. More meaningful measures must be forthcoming from the city and province.
It was surprising, however, how little of meaning that Premier Greg Selinger, whose government has been responsible to fix these issues for more than a decade, or Justice Minister Andrew Swan had to say about the crime problem. They both talked about more police and more foot patrols, but these are tired bromides.
It's up to local residents to show leadership, but they need to know that Mr. Selinger, Mr. Swan and Mayor Sam Katz are thinking beyond calls for speedier introduction of helicopter service. Otherwise, it's just a matter of time before the next round of shooting begins.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 29, 2010 A16
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