The second question posed to the candidates at the Shaftesbury High School debate. video is here.
Question - If elected what would be your first three action items to reduce crime?
Livio Ciarelli said that the police should be unleashed. He believed they would clean up the city in a month were it not for provincial and federal laws. Criminals are not put away when caught. On the second round, he said that more needs to be done. He indicated downtown was a problem and that police should have more technology at their disposal. He liked the idea of more close circuit television surveillance in the core. He wanted to make sure evidence was in place to reduce overtime testimony in courts. Non-aggressive tactics of a police presence on a gang house 24/7 was suggested as a way to drive criminals out. He said prostitution has been driven from some areas because of such pressures.
Wendy Lenton said she believed community policing, bike patrols and neighbourhood watches needed to be enhanced. She said that police should focus on personal and property crimes. She didn't think police alone could prevent crime. Prevention, she said, depended on everyone. She indicated lobbying other levels of government on crime was necessary. In the second round, she raised the issue of poverty. She believed education was a big way to counter poverty.
Paula Havixbeck says that the police association informs her that people aren't reporting petty crime. She says that fear of insurance claims prevents people from reporting. She claims Winnipeg ranks fifth in crime for cities in Canada. She outdoes Sam Katz by saying she would increase police numbers by 65. She wants a stay-at-home cruiser car in the district as well police sub-station in the neighbourhood. In the follow-up she took even harder lines on crime. She thinks highly of the anti-gang strategy.
Steve Szego said that tougher sentencing from the other levels of government is necessary. He indicated he supports a greater police presence and increased recreation opportunities for youth. He said police cars shouldn't be pulled from Charleswood for other calls. More administrative staff are needed to keep police on the streets. In the next round, he said that the city has the same level of cruiser cars as it was 15 years ago. He says we need to find out what cops need and get better deployment.
Dashi Zargani indicated he believes a greater police presence is necessary. He said more programs are needed to keep youth engaged. He also supported greater cooperation in tacking crime and what causes it. He said putting people in jail won't solve the problem. On the second round, Dashi says that people don't feel safe and he knows how that feels.
Timothy Martin said that police presence is a priority for him. Community policing is what he had in mind. He indicated that he believed that the root causes of crime needed to be addressed and that the city should identify those areas and seek help from the other levels of government for finances. He said that the revolving door justice system has to end. He said that violent crimes regardless of age should be dealt with harshly. In the second round, he said that Winnipeg has some of the highest numbers of officers per capita. He said deployment and fighting the problem of the same people being arrested over and over again keeping the force from getting a handle on thing. He supported a higher police presence but that an office might not be the solution.
Jarret Hannah believed the greatest need was downtown. He believed the focus had to be on reducing violent crime. He said he wants to give the police the numbers and the resources to address this issue. He said cadets and other police presence had ensure a safe downtown. He proposed more programs to get inner city youth to turn away from crime. On the follow-up, he said that police are making inroads but that the police needed the resources to respond to problems better.
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