Crime

Crime is easily one of the top two concerns on people’s minds. People in Concorida have told me they feel worried and frustrated about crime in the area. I’ve had senior citizens tell me they worry about opening the door or going out at night. A lot of people have mentioned graffiti.

My approach to crime is one of balance.

1. We have to be aware of the root causes of crime and what research tells us about crime and criminals. For example, many criminals have:

• Addictions
• Mental health problems
• Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
• A background of abuse and/or poor parenting

An effective approach to crime considers:

• children who are growing up in adverse circumstances. Helping them while they are young, though means such as high quality child care [link], will make them more likely to become good citizens.
• proven approaches to issues like addictions and mental health.
• the supports that families need to be able to parent well.
• how to guide children and youth into work and positive recreation.

2. We have to consider public safety. The decision to detain someone should consider the risk the criminal poses to others. The decision to allow for release into the community at some point, even if that is at the end of a sentence, needs to come with appropriate supervision and supports to prevent reoffending

3. We have to have meaningful consequences. I am concerned when I hear some politicians talk only about longer sentences and deterrence, because it is clear they are not coming from an evidence-based approach to the problem of crime. Longer sentences are not deterrents, because people who commit crimes generally do not weigh their options before deciding to commit crimes.  Because of problems such as FASD and being under the influence of drugs and alcohol, criminals are generally impulsive and don’t have good rational thought processes. Consequences are a part of the solution, but we need to consider how to use consequences to get the best results. Consequences need to be meaningful.

I remember several years ago a Winnipeg paper wrote about police coming across a group of youths who had broken bottles in a public area. They made the kids clean up all the broken glass. That is a great example of a meaningful consequence – linking someone directly to the results of their crime.

I spent some time examining the youth justice system in New Zealand. When a youth commits a crime there that is not violent, much of the time it is handled quicker and more effectively by gathering the people involved, including the youth, the parents, and the victim, and deciding together how it should be dealt with. Often this involves the youth working to repair the damage he or she did. It also means that victims have a voice. I’d like to see ideas like this implemented in Manitoba.

4. We have to focus on rehabilitation. Most criminals will be out in public again. Will they go back into their old lifestyles of crime or forge ahead as responsible citizens? I remember one man I worked with who was under house arrest. He decided to make a change in his life, and addressed his addiction, got help for his mental health issues, and was doing his best to find a job and become a good father to his child. These kinds of outcomes are possible, but the right services have to be in place.

5. Jails are expensive. Addressing crime through prevention end up being a more cost-effective approach.