Saying "NO" To Young Thugs
Canadian street gang expert, Michael Chettleburgh, delivered his message straight and to the point last night: Each of us is responsible for keeping our communities safe and free of violence. We are under the misconception that it won’t happen in my neighbourhood and that it’s a police problem. We all need to be vigilant about what is going on in our communities. "People have to let gang members know that this is their home, their community, and they won't stand for criminals taking it over," Staff Sgt. Daryl Goetz said recently. We also need to check our moral compass and set a better example for our young people of what is appropriate behaviour.
If you think that gang violence is only in cities like Toronto and Vancouver, think again. As a result of some shaking up of the drug trade in Toronto, gang members are seeking a piece of the action in smaller communities. Waterloo Region is particularly vulnerable because we have post-secondary institutions that have young people with more disposable income. But don’t think that drug use is just a problem amongst the university/college crowd; statistics show that the fastest growing drug consumer group is men 35 to 44 years of age.
First and foremost, the ‘business’ of gangs is drugs (43%), followed by extortion/fraud (23%), auto theft (16%), and prostitution (16%). Cannabis is by far the most popular drug, with 14.1% of Canadians reporting having used it in the last 12 months. There is a growing consensus that possession of cannabis should be decriminalized in order to transfer control of it out of the hands of gangs, and that use can be monitored. A Senate Committee report (2002) concluded that marijuana is not a ‘gateway’ to harder drugs, and that it is less harmful than alcohol and should be governed by the same sort of regulations. "Scientific evidence overwhelmingly indicates that cannabis is substantially less harmful than alcohol and should be treated not as a criminal issue but as a social and public health issue," said Senator Pierre Claude Nolin (2002).
Recently, Waterloo Region Police reported that 100 known gang members from other urban areas had moved into the Region; including members of the Crips and Bloods gangs, bringing the estimated number of gang members in the Region to several hundred. Violent crime is up by 11% and that there were 350 more reported incidents over last year. However, it was recently reported that the national homicide rate had dropped by 10% in 2006 and the number of gun murders fell for the first time in four years. Statistics are not very comforting, however, if it is your daughter or son who is caught by a stray bullet. Jane Creba was caught in the midst of a gang shoot out in downtown Toronto on Boxing Day in 2005, and last week Andrew Freake was shot to death in Dumfries Park on the outskirts of Cambridge.
According to Chettleburgh's book, ‘Young Thugs: Inside the Dangerous World of Canadian Street Gangs’ (Harper Collins Canada 2007), Canada’s youth gang membership is up from 7,000 in 2002 to 14,000 today. He says there are a number of factors at play to explain the increase in the number of young people drawn to street gangs. First, we are not providing adequately for immigrants; over 50% live in poverty. Second, our cities are unhealthy. Chettleburgh sited one factor. Over the last couple of decades the federal government has increasingly downloaded the responsibility for meeting the needs of citizens onto the provinces and the provinces have responded by downloading more responsibilities onto the cities, leaving city resources stretched to their limit. Third, is the changing composition of the Canadian family; with more families being led by single-parents who do not receive adequate financial support, and the absence of a ‘pro-social’ father to serve as a mentor. Gangs pull marginalized young men in and provide them with affiliation, acceptance, an opportunity to earn money (greater than minimum wage which is well below the poverty line), distinction and status
Last night’s presentation was part of a series on issues of substance abuse being presented by Community Safety & Crime Prevention Council and the Region of Waterloo. Michael Chettleburgh’s upcoming book ‘Gladiator School: Life Inside Canadian Prison’ will be published in 2009 by Harper Collins. I highly recommend that you check out other presentations in the series, such as; Two Stories of Addicted Cities and Addiction is not an Income Issue.
