What's Next For Jane-Finch?

As a piece of tactical policing, Wednesday's major gang sweep in Toronto's Jane-Finch community must be accorded the respect it deserves: a success that dealt a punishing blow to one of the region's most dangerous and active street gangs. Not only did the sweep demonstrate that street gangs are diverse in their geographical and criminal reach, it showed that when police agencies cooperate with each other across jurisdictional lines, big results can follow. So props to the Toronto Police Service, and their many policing partners.

Of course, it is far too early to predict the ultimate effect of the sweep, which netted almost 100 alleged gang members and resulted in over 700 charges. Big sweeps can sometimes choke the downstream criminal justice system, and I expect that crown attorneys will cherry pick the strongest cases and drop or plea bargain many others, thus returning some of the alleged gangsters back to the street. If Crown Attorneys try to make charges under the Section 467 gangsterism provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada - which provide for penalties ranging from 5 years to life - we can expect that the alleged gangsters, and their lawyers, will dig in for a long and protracted fight further complicating our ability to judge, in the short term, the real impact of the sweep.

What is clear, however, is the palpable sigh of relief in the community, notwithstanding criticisms from some that the police were "heavy handed" in their effort. With dozens of suspected gangsters and their affiliates sitting in remand, residents of Jane-Finch can now take stock and determine where they go from here to heal their troubled community.

This is the opportunity afforded by the sweep, yet we, all of us, continue to demonstrate a lack of foresight and sound planning in its aftermath. Concurrent with any sweep, we need to step in and make a massive re-investment in the community in question. For Jane-Finch and others, this means among other things:

• Develop a coherent plan of community mobilization, encompassing police, business, community leaders, government, schools, faith communities and youth, rather than implement ad hoc and stop gap measures.
• Continued presence and high visibility of police officers to address the gang leadership vacuum that is created after a sweep, as well as strengthen relationships with youth and community leaders.
• Provide sustainable funding for community programs and social supports such as mentorship, job training, parent support, homework clubs, sports and recreation opportunities, intensive life skills development, ESL training, diversity awareness, food banks and more.
• Revitalize social housing and help low income people buy and renovate their homes, because where there is ownership there is attachment and engagement.
• Engender a sense of pride by celebrating the community's achievements and many gifts, rather than focus solely on their failures.
• Offer broad scale conflict resolution services and training, so that the community members can deal with its contentious issues before things spiral out of control. Jane-Finch already has a leader in this area that needs more of our time and money: Conflict Mediation Services of Downsview.

I could go on and on with ideas, but the point is this: we all need to give a damn about Jane-Finch, which I consider one of our city's treasures, and invest in its health and well-being.

How about this idea: let's allocate one dollar for Jane-Finch's revitalization for every dollar that has been spent and will be spent related to Wednesday's raid, including the 700 overtime cops, 11 months of intelligence gathering, crown attorney time and other criminal justice system expenditure (corrections and legal aid) to prosecute these cases. Yes, the price tag will be millions of dollars indeed, but if we are prepared to spend serious cash getting gangsters off the street, we must spend at least an equivalent amount helping the people left behind in the wake of the sweep.

Jane Jacobs wrote, "The first thing to understand is that the public peace - the sidewalk and street peace - of cities is not kept primarily by the police, necessary as police are. It is kept primarily by an intricate, almost unconscious, network of voluntary control and standards among the people themselves, and enforced by the people themselves." Wise advice indeed, so let's invest, really invest, in the people of Jane-Finch, now that the Toronto Police have done their part.    

Comments

[Mdebe Bona]

Your recipe for revitalizing the Jane-Finch area made me think of the old adage "You can take a horse to water, but you can't make him drink". You have a lot of good ideas, but unfortunately they are ethnomorphic and transparently paternalistic. Given the tribal nature of gang culture, I don't see how you can expect to turn things around without first asking the fundamental questions:
- what do the people of Jane and Finch want and expect for themselves?
- what measures do they think will work and to what degree?
I fail to see how bringing solutions into the community from the outside can make a lasting and meaningful difference. It seems to me the first order of business should be to stop imposing expectations from mainstream society.

[Michael Chettleburgh]

Respectfully, I believe your comments are misguided. My first prescription is to develop a multi-stakeholder and coherent plan of mobilization, which includes community input of course. In this respect, your comment and my suggestion are completely in accord. As far as the issue of "solutions from the outside" are concerned, I know first hand that people in Jane-Finch and other communities challenged by gangs and the conditions that give rise to them want support and the engagement of others. For those in the so-called "mainstream" that care about the health of these communities, it is not about imposing expectations or being paternalistic, but about accepting a share of responsibility for problems we have all allowed to occur. Thank your for your comments.

[Ian McCorriston]

Not enough people in Canada have been directly affected by the street gangs to really care about doing anything about it. Especially if it costs money. I fear that things will have to get a lot worse before the Canadian public is willing to put the effort and expense into remedying the situation. We find it easier to just blame the gang member for his anti-social behaviour. As in most instances, we in Canada are not willing to learn from the American experience and prefer to make the same mistakes as our neighbours south of the border have made in addressing the issue of street gangs. Innovation is not an inherent Canadian trait. We don't want to think too far into the future and prefer the quick fix even though there is no quick fix to be had.

[Jane]

You people are insane. So what if you can use big words and fancy sentences. Thats not getting you anywhere! This so called "gang problem" is going to be a lot different then any other problem. It may have the same look but its different. Most of the people that are in a Gang is because thats just the way they are and no sweeps or whatever is going to change people! People don't change, unless they want to Change. And Gangsters or Thugs their pretty pleased with themselves. I believe you can try anything you want to try and stop this problem but there are good people and bad people... and there will always be a trouble or rough spot. Oh and by the way Sweeps are Stupid that just makes people More angry! It doesn't help it just makes things worse. So please do everyone a favour and stop trying to be so Damn smart. Its not getting anyone anywhere!

[Jus B. Inreal]

Everybody regards gangs as the scourge of the neighbourhood, when in actuallity, most gang members have a broader and more accurate overstanding of what's going on around them, because they ARE part of the community, whether we want to admit it or not. Instead of taking up the same old us vs. them mentality, they should be INCORPORATED into the solution, for they can reach kids better than ANY beat cop can. The sameway they are passionate about the gang and one another, a way needs to be found to extend that love to others within (and outside) the community. Members within a community will not shoot up their own 'turf', but the lack of respect they have for other turfs or gangs needs to be addressed among themselves in a non violent way. If kids follow gang members, then let that member preach something more productive than just selling drugs. Rather than dismissing them as the write-offs of society.