Crime in Toronto
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The low crime rate in Toronto has resulted in the city having a reputation as one of the safer cities in North America. This is evidenced in the 2002 Michael Moore documentary film Bowling for Columbine, which was partly filmed in Toronto. Moore visited suburbs in Toronto, where he found front doors unlocked and much less concern over crime and security. In fact, Toronto is very safe compared to other major cities in North America. For instance, the homicide rate for Toronto is 1.9 per 100,000 people (1999; Statistics Canada), compared to Atlanta (34.5), Boston (5.5) New York City (9.1), Vancouver (2.8) and Washington, DC (45.5). For robbery rates, Toronto also ranks low, with 115.1 robberies per 100,000 people, compared to Dallas (583.7), Los Angeles (397.9), Montreal (193.9), New York City (490.6) and Washington (670.6). The overall crime rate in general is an average of 48 incidents per 100,000 people, compared to Cincinnati (326), Los Angeles (283), New York City (225) and even Vancouver (239). However, many in the city, especially the local media, have concerns regarding gun violence, gangs and racial profiling by police against minorities.[1]
In 2005, Toronto media coined the term "Year of the Gun" because the number of gun-related homicides reached 52 out of 80 murders in total;[2] almost double the 27 gun deaths recorded the previous year.[3] On December 26, 2005, 15-year-old Jane Creba was shot and killed in the Boxing Day shooting while shopping on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto. After this incident, many people called for the federal government to ban handguns in Canada; this also became an issue in the 2006 federal election, but the number of homicides dropped to 69 in 2006. Additionally, during the first half of 2006 there were 137 (but only 13 fatal) shooting incidents in the city, down marginally from 164 (19 fatal) in the first half of 2005. However, 2007 saw another, smaller wave of gun violence starting in May with the shooting death of 15-year-old Jordan Manners at his school, C. W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute. A couple months later, on July 22, 2007, 11-year-old Ephraim Brown was killed after being shot in the neck by a stray bullet, during a gang shooting in the city's north end at Jane Street and Sheppard Avenue. Additionally, there were two early morning shooting deaths in the Oakwood-Vaughan neighbourhood. The first on March 17, 2007 and the second on July 21, 2007. Both shootings happened during parties. These events raised calls for a ban on handguns once again. 84 murders were committed in 2007, roughly half with a firearm, thus, Toronto had a murder rate of about 3.3 per 100,000 - almost double the rate recorded in 1999 (1.9 per 100,000), but less than the peak years of the early 1990s.
Gang related incidents have also been on the rise. Between the years of 1997 and 2005 over 300 gang-related deaths have occurred. American gang experts have been brought in and increased funding for programs in troubled neighbourhoods have been recently initiated. Other organizations, including the New York City based group Guardian Angels, have come to Toronto despite the massive displeasure of city residents, city officials, and politicians. Despite these incidents, Toronto police have made significant arrests of gang members, which inevitably has resulted in less illegal guns on the streets. In late September 2005, Toronto police arrested 44 members of the Rexdale-based "Ardwick Bloods Crew" also known as A.B.C. Over 1,000 charges were laid. Then in May 2006, 106 additional gang members were apprehended, who were part of the "Jamestown Crew" in the largest gang sweep in Toronto's history. In total, there were over 1,000 charges laid in the anti-gang offensive called Project XXX.[4] In June 2007, Toronto police arrested about 95 people, including leaders of the Driftwood Crips and the sister of Jordan Manners, for a lengthy list of 700 criminal charges.[5] Other initiatives include a recent announcement by the Ontario government that they will contribute half the cost of hiring an additional 250 police officers. However, this is viewed by some as a reactionary move to the increased violence. There has also been an increase in social spending, which is aimed at community projects, and getting businesses to hire "at-risk youth" to get them away from gangs. Ontario has also come up with an anti-gun strategy.
Toronto has a comparable rate of car theft to various U.S. cities, although this is lower than in some other Canadian cities, especially Vancouver. Much of this has been attributed to organized crime, with stolen vehicles ending up being shipped overseas for sale.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Torontoisms - Crime and Safety
- ^ CTV.ca | Despite rise, police say T.O. murder rate 'low'
- ^ CTV Toronto - Toronto sets a new record for gun-related carnage - CTV News, Shows and Sports - Canadian Television
- ^ CityNews report
- ^ Gang leaders, Jordan Manners' sister netted in raids, www.cbc.ca, Published June 15, 2007
