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economist sunsuntribune ontario votes 2003 saturday sept 27 2003 voters not asking for more cops candidates say by jeff mitchell staff writer hen the leaders of ontarios three main political par ties met for a tele vised debate last week they tan gled on issues ranging from tax ation to health care to gay mar riage notably absent from the dis cussion were topics that have in the past been central to party platforms public security polic ing and justice im not really hearing much about justice issues said adrian viseritin the green party candi date in vaughankingaurora not one person has dis- cussed safety and security at the door concurred pamela courtot whos hoisting the ndp colours in oak ridges that doesnt mean justice- related issues have dropped off the radar screen last monday in newmarket a ratepayers group polled candidates on their sup port for a plan to increase the number of officers patrolling the streets in york region not surprisingly the mpp- wannabes were in favour of t more cops liberal hopeful john taylor thundered i wont rest until i knowyork north has got its fair share cvytltejeraisjahd conservatives share similar plat forms this time around more cops anda court system thats- responsive when charges are laid the liberals have vowed to hire more prosecutors to move cases through what is now a slow arid complex system therf tories are touting their tradition al line about the rights of ontarians to safety and security carmineiacono the pc can didate invaughankingaurora said a continued tough stance will help address the fears pep- pie may feel about an increas- irigly threatening world mriacbno a lawyer and ps judge preaches a credo of strict severe and swift administration s of justice p fn voters want to hear that mr iacono said c a im out there knocking on doors and listening to people john taylor york north liberal candidate wont rest until region has its share of policing theyre talking about concerns about growth in the area about an anticipated rise in crime mr iacono said he touts the tory plan echoed by the liberals to put 1 000 more cops on the street but that plan has been dis missed as window dressing by the head of the local police union- john miskiw said the provin cial initiative will amount to at best a few more cops on patrol in york the union has cited a need for at least 200 new offi cers hes calling for stepped up efforts to increase the number of officerswbrkirig streets here 1 through aggressive recruitment and increased capacity at the ontario police college in aylnier citizens have seized upon that message and launched project 700 the goal of which is to boost the policetopopula tion ratioto one officer for every 700 residents an improvement j over the 1890 level that now v exists brian patterson who is head ing the effort said the province needs to show leadership ih the form of initiatives and funding over the last 10 to 12 years the region has completely ignored policing issues patterson said maintaining the police to population ratio is criti- cal m hiring the officers necessary to create the 1700 ratio wpuld cost an estimated 16 million mr patterson said police should of grpwtharid liufiicted as such muck the way new development is required to pay for roads sew- ers and parks we want the province to set carmine iacono vaughari-king- aurora tory candidate touts partys plan to put more police on street a standard for policing mr patterson said the province has to provide the additional resources to make thatwork its one thing to catch crooks and lay charges the other side of the equation involves the people who are affected according to victims advocate joe wamback the real pain of crime is not suffered by society in general its suffered by victims mr wamback said the newmarket resident 7 1 who rose to national promi- pence with his fight for justice after the vicious beating of his teenaged son is no stranger to politics he made ariunsuccess- fill bid under the tory banner in 7 the 2000 federal election 7 v now operating outside the constraints of the political spec- trum he has launched the canadian crirhe victims fquhdatioh a registered charity that will provide emotional and financial support for victims and lobbyforlegislatiye change to benefitmosaffecfed by crime while some gains have been made during the last eight years of conservative rule in ontario including the establishment of a victims bill of rights and court- based services for victims there adrian visentin vaughan-king- aurora green pary candidate says prevention key to reducing crime is much more to do mr wamback contends victim support is still lacking and that shortfall is exacerbated by a justice system that does not properly punish those convicted of crimeshe said- we have a judicial system that seems to be ignoring puni tive sentences for crimes even serious crimes and a prison system that seems deter mined to allow criminals back into society as soon as possible mr wamback said were becoming very com placent and its that complacen cy i believe mat is becoming fundamental ih the proliferation of crime mr visentin meanwhile said preventipriis me bestway tbi reduce criminal behaviour especially among young people his party has embraced the principles of the federal youth criminal justice act enacted in april of this year v that legislation favours diver sion and alternative sentencing to jail timefqr nonviolent f0 offenders v 7 vf if you commit a nbnviolent crime your sentence should be steered more toward restorative justice mr visentin said your crime is against the community basically your sen tence vvill be to pay back the community mr viseritin said a firm but compassionate approach must be taken especially with youth who woiild benefit more from facing up to their actions than becoming involved in acourt system which through delays arid legal wrangling actually distance a youth frorh his or her crime facing up to the person or jflpj x3b mb 7 w wsssbii 8ps slip pamela courtot oak ridges ndp candidate blames tories for preying on peoples fears community harmed by illegal actions may have more impact on a nonviolent offender mr- visentin argued the justice system is not only about punishment he said its also about rehabilita tion ms gpuriot meanwhile said politicians who bluster about crime and punishrrierit are often v playing on peoples fears to v avoid scrutiny on more complex issues of social justice 7 7 our violent crime rates are pretty well stable she said i really dp think this is a red her- ring itsfear mongering ms courtot targets the tories i whoin the eyes of some have lumped irrirriigfants together with criminals in the present platform as the chief perpetra- tors of the themagainstus school of politics they have managed to find themselves aconstituencythat wants to befieve thatf is courtot said other targets have included the ppprarid teachers she added characterizing this denionization as a diversion- ary tactic by a government that slashed social spending to usher intaxcutsl- its always nice to have spriie land of scapegoat for ones own perceived failures she said the same holds for the cul- tore of crirhe and punishment that prevails at queens park ms courtot added i think its a penny wise pound foolish approach to just talk about building rhore private jails arid cut funding for special education and childrens mental health services she said lets talk about the kinds of things we can do to build a strong society rtyv gomie eerience our new ixaok solaht iiounjge t 59 main st north markham fj bkk now for your cfcufetnias irty catering available tmenus also available-