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4- ý i t*nx<iTesà Pelruary 1, 2001 To help prolong the lite of your tires... ROTATE & ELECTRONIC q . BALANCE Ask about a front wheel aligniment Before You Pay For Your Next Brake Job For___ Safety's Sake Have Our- Licensed Technicians Evaluate ONTAtIO.5 Vour Brakes J-EA Accredifed Test & Reiar Facllîty Many causes of violence can be prevented:, Nosal By IRENE GENTLE The Champion Before a fist first strikes another's flesh in anger, violence prevention can do its work. Thai's thc message Haion Medical Oticer of Health Dr. Bob Nosal imnparied to thie Region's healili and social services commit- tee last Tuesday. In an information-only presenta- lion, Dr. Nosal stresscd that vio- lence has many causes. and with them jusi as many spots for inter- vention. "Violence is not an inevitalile consequence of modem society,"1 lie said. "lits a learned human liehaviour." Risk factors include excessive family conflici, a lack of consîsten- cy in liolh the giving of love and the doling out of discipline and punishnient, a lack of supervision and the poor mental health of a par- ent. Kids can also learn violence through music, movies and video games. Early symptoms that tiint at a blossoming of violent behaviours occur as early as grade 7 in stu- dents. They include poor grades, weak bonds in school, a poor school environment, such as a prevalence of drug use, and low esteem sn girls. But the la tte r symptom doesn 't hold (rue w iîth in a n y bo0ys , warned AI D r . Dr. Bob Nasal Nosal. "Someîimes uts the guys with the high self-esîeemr who are involved but with girls, uts the low self-esieem," he said. And schools with a zero-toler- ance policy on violent beliaviour do have an impact on curbing aggressive behaviour, he added. But they can't do it alose. 'The police on their ows won'î bce ale to deal with il," said Dr. Nosal. 'The healîh depariment won't. Stand along programs won'î lie effective." Inconsistent attempis 10 educale students or the public also aren't enough. "Information alose isn't going ici do the trick," said Dr. Nosal. "It has tolie inlegraîed intd whaî the schools are doing. A lot of limes ils a ose-off thing, instead of having it of sufficient intensiîy." That means coping mechanisms in the forms of conflicl resolution and anger management have lt lie consistently taugi in order to have the desired effecl. The trick is no( to view violence as a black and white behaviour, but rather as something along a contini- uum, said Dr. Nosal. When viewed in tha( light, ny places tii step in are revealed. 'There are risk f actor, aloîîg the continuum and we cas basicall target a number tif areas,' said Dr. Nosal. -There are mîultiple points ot intervention." Part of the challenge is to inte- grate the work various coalitions are already doing, such as the Halton Violence Prevention Committee and the Halton EIder Abuse Prevention Committee. Currently, violence prevenîton is flot a mandatory program aI flic health department. But if it were id become ose, it could lie cîlsi- shared on a 50-50 basis with the Province. That's an option Halton is look- ing ai, said Dr. Nosal. Oakville Councillor Keith Bird. who also suts on the Halton Regional Police Services Board, said violence prevention is also lin the police agenda. Additional resources have becs allocated o it in the upcoming police budget, which has yet to come before council, he said. 'I _a-