Brampton - In today's GTA, the pace of population growth and the rapid birth of new subdivisions can leave neighborhoods socially disconnected.  Though a commonality of values may exist, socio-economic realities attenuate this disconnect.   Parents are working longer and harder to make a living, community spaces and volunteers to run programs are in short supply. There are not enough mentors and schools are ill prepared to manage the ever present challenges that subsist within their increasingly diverse school populations.  Added to the mix is that children today are exposed to a wider range of negative influences. Whether via the Internet, friends at school or music that glorifies violence and misogyny while spurning the rule of law, there is an assault visiting on today's youth on an unprecedented scale.

Taken together, these issues are cause for great concern that young people will be tempted to try gang-culture or other forms of anti-social behaviour and ultimately, engage in violent crime.  As a result the emerging disconnects should be a concern across the city and we have to be committed to ensuring that gangs and violent crimes don't become a problem in Brampton.

We cannot continue to think of the problem as being somewhere else. Events of 2004-2005 in Toronto and recent killings in 2007 should serve as a wake up call. While we far too often hear about gang shootings in Toronto, it is now clear that gangs and gun violence are not limited to Toronto. Knowing what we know, it would be tragic to wake up one day and find that young men are shooting each other in Brampton and that we are burying 12-year-old kids. In the last four years, Ontario has seen the highest increase in gang-related homicides in the country and these more than doubled between 2004 and 2005.  2007 is on-track to surpass 2005's summer of the gun.

While Brampton remains a quite, safe place to work and raise our families, a culture of gangs and guns is quietly taking root and has begun to permeate our once safe streets and infiltrate our schools.  And as Brampton's population rapidly grows, more and more young people will be lured into a culture of gangs and gun violence. According to the Brampton Guardian's June 8th 2007 issue, Peel Police say there are approximately 100 gangs taking in about 1,200 youth in Peel.Left unchecked, this will only get worse.

The reality is we are all affected by incidents of violence involving youth in Brampton. While the city has grown into a wonderful model of how people from all over the world can live peacefully with and befriend each other regardless of ethnicity or religion, gangs and violence are problems that involve and impact each of us regardless of ethnicity or religion.

It impacts our families, neighbours, and the broader community. In some respects it affects how communities relate to each other. It's a problem that demands we take responsibility for change. It is a problem that mandates we all play a role in keeping Brampton safe. We do this by first committing to keeping our children safe.

Some say that is the role of the police or politicians or teachers or parents to make society better.  I believe it's the role of everyone working together. However, I believe it starts in the home because parents are the first line of defence when it comes to instilling social values and identifying and preventing anti-social or violent behaviour. The school is next and the community is third.  Having created an enabling environment for youth to thrive, the responsibility then falls to them to contribute to their own betterment and develop a sense of self-respect. The problem is that there is a disturbing trend in how the idea of 'respect' is perceived among some youth. Increasingly we see the traditional definition of respect being replaced with something that requires leaving others in fear.

That's why it will take a united effort to implement a balanced combination of measures to identify trends and prevent crime while ensuring that offenders do not control our neighbourhoods.  This means building a solid foundation for kids and families, providing increased resources for police and the education system and fixing a justice system that fails both victims and society by not holding offenders accountable for their actions.

On the issue of violence affecting youth, leadership matters. Like John Tory, I do not accept the approach of those who say it has nothing to do with law enforcement and a credible justice system and that it is only about better social programs. Nor do I accept that it is just about more police and stricter sentences.

It is about both and it is about balance.

If we don't very deliberately put better choices in front of our youth we cannot expect violence to diminish. Conversely there are those youth who will cross the line regardless of the initiatives in place to help them make better choices. We must signal to them and their victims that there are real consequences for their misdeeds.

That's why a John Tory Government is committed to providing more positive experiences for young people by investing in recreational and community centres, and working with community groups to help more low-income children access healthy activities.

Our proposed Open Schools program will help open more schools to community activities on evenings and weekends. We will create more jobs and opportunities by working with community groups and employers to bridge the gaps that can prevent youth from achieving their potential. This is not just a matter of building up education and skills training. It is also a matter of educating employers and eliminating misunderstanding and prejudice.

We will strengthen programs that focus on early intervention and prevention, starting from the belief that hope and opportunity can overcome temptation and alienation.  We will help teach children about Internet safety and the power of the Internet, while ensuring that they are taught about the risks of on-line predators and loss of privacy that can arise from the improper use of social networking sites.

We are committed to protecting communities from criminals by putting the safety of law-abiding citizens at the very top of our priority list. We will keep more dangerous offenders behind bars by using special prosecutors who will navigate the complex process of getting a dangerous-offender order in place. We will go after bail and probation violators. Offenders who breach bail or probation too often have their offences plea-bargained away. We won't allow that practice for any offence that involves guns, sexual assault or domestic violence. Those who post bail for the accused will face added responsibility. We will go after every penny, every time.

We will support police with programs that recognize how much crime and law enforcement has changed in the GTA. We will enhance support for police officers, including funds to pay for counselling to help front-line officers handle the psychological and physical strains of modern policing.  We will work with the federal government to increase police on the streets and improve information sharing between police forces so that cases do not fall between the cracks, and work with communities to provide the latest information and education programs for law enforcement.

We will enhance 24/7 policing, recognizing that most crimes now take place between midnight and 4:00 a.m. When you and your family members are out late, you need to know that police have enough resources in place to protect you and your loved ones.

We will also enhance the openness of the justice system by requiring annual public reports on the activities of our courts. These reports would cover key areas such as how many people are being charged with gun and other violent crimes, how long people are waiting for trials, what kind of plea bargain deals are being made, bail violations, etc. Ontarians deserve to know when the system is working and when it is failing, and they expect government to be accountable and learn from mistakes.

Toronto's gang problems should have, and could have been addressed more deliberately over the last four years before the culture of gangs and guns was allowed to spread.  A John Tory Government will work with Ontario's municipalities to ensure that this does not happen. Leadership matters.

Written by: Mark Beckles

The Mark Beckles Campaign
P.O. Box 38620
545 Steeles Ave W.
L6Y 4W5
info@markbeckles.ca
www.markbeckles.ca