Potential Silver Lining To ‘Most Dangerous City’ Designation
Prince George, BC – Call it the silver lining to come out of the dark cloud that was cast by news in December that Maclean’s Magazine had ranked Prince George as the ‘Most Dangerous City’ in Canada for the third year in a row…
The city now appears poised to receive substantial, multi-year funding – up to a maximum of $7.5-million dollars over five years – for a crime reduction initiative.
The City’s Manager of Communications and Citizen Engagement, Chris Bone, told Councillors at last night’s meeting that Prince George is one of six communities shortlisted for funding from the Department of Public Safety Canada’s National Crime Prevention Centre.
Bone said the City partnered with the RCMP, School District 57, the Ministry of Children and Family Development, and the Prince George Native Friendship Centre on a submission that proposes a preventative family-focused strategy. She said the ‘Strengthening Families Program’ is the culmination of four years of hard work in this community – including initiatives like the gang crime summit and a youth needs assessment survey – and is a family skills training program intended to "increase resilience and reduce risk factors for behavioural, emotional, academic and social problems in children three- to 16-years-old."
"One of the most important things for you to know about the program is that it is evidenced-based, so when other communities have implemented this program that have similar risks that Prince George youth said in the survey, there’s been a change over time," said Bone. "There’s been a demonstrated improvement in those risk factors."
"Intervene on risk factors before crime happens – seems like a pretty smart route to take," said Councillor Garth Frizzell. "It’s a tribute to you and the work of the city that we can move on to the next stage." Frizzell said he’s spent some time comparing the most dangerous city in Canada to its counterpart in the United States, Detroit, where the crime reduction strategies are all reactionary. He said the fact the City’s submission has been selected for full proposal development speaks volumes to the difference between a "’real’ dangerous city, like Detroit, and us here in Prince George."
Prince George Mayor Shari Green said, "I know that we would be right here where we are with this opportunity and being shortlisted and being able to move to the full proposal stage without the help of Maclean’s Magazine, but the timing of that publication, I’m sure, definitely added to the need that we have in this community to be doing a lot of the preventative maintenance kinds of things upfront – getting at the root of some of this kind of stuff ahead of the game, instead of being reactive."
After receiving Council’s support to develop a full proposal last night, Bone and colleague, Sarah Brown, will now work closely with the NCPC on that final submission. She said the Centre now sees the process as a partnership in terms of moving the proposal forward, offering assistance through tele-conferences and even an all-expenses paid workshop in Vancouver in March. The City’s Manager of Communication and Citizen Engagement says the horizon looks pretty positive – she says she did ask how many of the projects would be funded, "And the answer was: the intention is to fund all six – of course, pending ministerial approval."
Bone says if approved, the program wouldn’t be a flash in the pan, it would have the resources necessary to really have a chance to prove itself over time.
Comments
So crime does pay.
5 murders in Surrey this year already. Hey Maclean’s anyone home?
Yous hould examine your stats if you are comparing PG with Surrey.
Cheers
Got to love silver linings. I sure hope we get the funding. Crossing fingers.
A silver lining indeed.
This could make a difference to our city.
metalman.
I simply cannot believe the short-sightedness of all the folks who say this is great.
It’s still my taxes!!! So it comes out of a different pocket, it still comes out of my pocket!
When will people understand that simply because a different level of government gives back money that they took from their citizens in the first place, it still was their money!!!
The only money any government has is that which they extorted from their citizens.
For the ones that just don’t get it, we can keep on letting them get out and continue making victims of us all.
How about locking the scum of the earth up for a change. That will show the up and comers what they have to look forward too.
jetstream, you got that right. Like money can fix our crime ratings. It takes some commitment and its a long term effort. We didnt just get there overnight. Poverty and education are the items that could fix our crime rate.
The idea that bigger jails and harcher punbishmet are the answere is just not so.
Cheers
Maybe I’m just super idealistic, but I think all young people need older people to inspire them. Some of us are lucky and get that inspiration in abundance – caring parents, fantastic teachers, a multitude of older relatives. I had this and when I was a teenager I always knew that life was full of possibilities for me and that if I gave it my best shot things would probably be okay. So many of these kids getting involved in these gangs don’t come from homes like mine. They weren’t given that amazing start in life. They aren’t surrounded by adults showing them how to be productive and happy people. They don’t know that they can do it so they follow the path they know.
The programs aimed at improving the lives of young people at risk seem like a great plan to me and I would love to be involved. I have seen kids inspired to the point of changing their path. It happens. And in the end it is much more cost effective than jailing people. Yes, these are our tax dollars. But prevention is always preferable to patching up later, right?
“Frizzell said he’s spent some time comparing the most dangerous city in Canada to its counterpart in the United States, Detroit”
I’m eagerly awaiting the conclusions from that research project!
Wait, I thought the official stance was that the Macleans story was bunk?
Mcleans story is bang on when it talks about UNBC as the best little University among small universitys.
Mcleans is bunk when it talks about crime in Pr George.
And so it goes.
“I simply cannot believe the short-sightedness of all the folks who say this is great.”
So jetstream, you think policing and court costs and insurance costs are cheaper than crime reduction / prevention? Or whats your solution? do nothing and hope for the best?
To,start with poverty and education are the resonsablity of the provincial government and it needs to be a long term investment not just at election time. And all; they are interested in is the economy and more tax dollars.
the other problem is that there never has been an effort made to help out natives and get them to accept our laws and that is a federal responsability. As long as these problems are with us we will always be Number One.
Cheers
A good many of the posters on this board are at least partly responsible for the prevalence of crime in this city, and throughout Canada. Keep voting Conservative, and the prohibition on marijuana will continue, along with Harpers’ commitment to the war on drugs, and his determination to build more prisons. This all costs lots of money. It is all unnecessary.
Want to pay less taxes? Decriminalize or legalize marijuana. Prohibition didn’t work for alcohol, and it won’t work for weed. Look around town, and see who is getting rich. It is the most unscrupulous and violent characters. We all know who they are. Keep voting Conservative and I guarantee they will get wealthier and more powerful. Up to you what kind of society you want.
I have been back and forth on the marijuana thing herbster – I agree from the point of comparing it to alcohol. I dont do it and never have but if you want to give ‘er. I like a cold beer too. BUT to legalize it in Canada will do nothing to stop illegal grow ops as long as it is still illegal in other countries (especially the US). That day may come but to relate PGs crime rate to illegal dope is a bit of a stretch isnt it? How many of our sexual assaults are related to weed?
If the police, court system and jails were not kept busy with marijuana related offenses, then the police would have more time to spend on other and more important crime.
Last year over 3,000 people in BC received a criminal record for possession of pot. What a monumental waste of time and resources.
PG is the dumping ground for both federal and provincial mental health problems and it shows in our crime stats. What is needed is $100 million investment into Northern BC mental health care if we are to be the dumping ground for those with mental health issues who act out in public.
Instead city property owners pay for it in policing costs and a high crime rate.
The law is the law is the law.
Here’s something for the Herbster to chew on.
Lets say that we had a referendum to legalize marijuana and those in favour of legalization were victorious. Marijuana would then be legal, and those who voted against legalization would accept the results.
Now lets assume that those opposed to legalizing it were to win the referendum. What do you think would happen.??
Those people who voted in favour of legalization would continue so smoke pot, grow pot, and break the law.
Sooooo. The issue is that there are a great number of people in Canada, who cherry pick what laws they will obey and what laws they will break.
If society says its a crime, then its a crime. Thats the way societys work.
On another note. The $7.5 Million for the crime reduction initiative should be spent on roads. Why?? Because it is a crime that we have to drive on the rotten roads in Prince George.
Herbster. Your lacklustre, ill equipped, unsavoury, Federal Liberals had many, many, years to change the laws on pot. They failed to do so. So why blame Harper.
He received this bloody mess from the Liberals, who are still reeling from all their corruption problems.
PG, fly tape for freaks.
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