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stouffville suntribune b thursday may 5 2005 3 citize public involvement proactive policing key to keeping york safe martin derbyshire writes final instalment of threepart series fighting future crime isnt just a battle for police politicians and judges much of the struggle is up to the people 22yearold chris beasley says mr beasley who works with teenagers as part of the york regional police venturers pro gram says youths tell him crime drugs arid violence are on the rise i think its all increasing he said but its still safer here than toronto the community has a big role to play and groups such as the venturers can become sol diers in an ongoing struggle against crime mr beasley said- we attract youth who care about their community want to volunteer and help others he said that sets an example for other people and helps improve public safety for sure russian immigrant roksolanatchotchieva moved to canada in 2000 to escape rampant crime and deteriorat ing public safety in the former soviet union she came to richmond hill because it is known as one of the safest communities in the country as the region grows so does crime and other threats to pub- lie safety such as aggressive driving but ms tchotchieva a russian language radio host doesnt think putting more cops on the streets is the answer like mr beasley she believes the solution lies within the resi dents of york region we dont really need more police officers they have been doing a good job she said ifs just that people need to consid- where were going staff photostevesomerville const ron ralph answers students questions at st mary immaculate catholic school in richmond hill community polic ing including school outings and public meetings is part of york regional polices plan to get citizens involved in public safety er themselves a part of the com munity look out for their neigh bours house people dont think they have a right to look around but its their duly to let-people- know whats happening back in the former soviet union they always thought its not my business but here its different safety is the commu nitys responsibility you need to be a part of the community and you have to report crimes or suspicious things we have to educate people so they can understand this is how it works here in canada the future of public safety is really up to us york regional police chief armand la barge couldnt agree more- crime is not a police prob lem its a community problem if youre going to be successful in eradicating crime or slowing down the tide of crime in your community then you need to get the community involved he said in fact a great deal of the crime that we solve is as a result of information we receive from the public in most serious crimes police make an appeal to the community for information the chief says the service is always willing to help set up neighbourhood watch programs for residents whoare willing to get involved the community needs to be involved not just in reporting crime and reporting suspicious circumstances but in taking responsibility for their own crime prevention chief la barge said if we continue to do what were doing right now and we continue to enjoy public sup port and the community con tinues to be involved in their police service and their commu nity then i am confident in say ing we will continue to be a safe community the moment that we no longer enjoy the community support the moment the com munity decides theyre ho longer going to participate in making their community safe then well have problems mark my word in the meantime york cops are doing their part to improve public safety by making crime prevention a major priority were moving our organiza tion away from a law enforce ment organization to a crime prevention law enforcement organization chief la barge explained if you can prevent a crime you prevent someone from being a victim it is a hor- rific experience being the victim of a crime a feeling that youve been violated and there is a sig nificant sometimes lifelong impact and we want to avoid that police are pushing public involvement by using press releases and community meet ings to tell residents how to avoid becoming a victim of crime ifs all part of being pro active chief la barge said you candb things to pre vent ypurself from becoming me victim of acar jacking or a homeinvasion theft sexual assault an assault or a homi cide he said and these things improve our ability to solve crimes and improve our ability to prevent crimes while at the same time giving our citizens the tools they need to become part of that crime prevention and law enforcement program part of the reason 85-year- old bill scott moved his family to thornhill in the mid 1980s was the communitys reputation see courts page 10 crystal ball gazing difficult criminologists focus on todays crime trends by martin derbyshire staff writer two of the countrys top criminology professors agree the biggest threat to the future of public safety is difficult to predict i guess if we look at the statistics right now impaired driving is the nol criminal cause of death in the country and probably the biggest threat said tony doob of the centre of criminology at the university of toronto what is an emerging problem the difficulty withlooking at emergingprob- lems is that it can distract from all the tilings were not doing to deal with the issues of today while the internet has changed the criminal landscape by providing access to a world of potential fraud victims or a market for child pornography for exam ple the crimes themselves have not really changed mr doob said irather than attacking potential threats coming down the road mr doob suggests we look at things we know are threats today and find ways we can improve public safety now and into the future when your looking at improving public safety i think the nol issue should be what will have the most impact on public safety per dollars spent and that brings us back to traffic he said its been shown that the more enforcement out on the roads the more likely people are to drive better if people think theyre going to get caught they wont run that red light thats where youll get the biggest bang for your buck while york regional police chief armand la barge arid monte kwinter the minister of community safety and correctional services point to-marijua- ria ops and organized crime involvement in the drug trade as both existing and emerging threats to public safety margaret beare director of the nathianson centre for the study of organized crime and corruption at york university believes organized crime will pose no moreof a threat to the every day citizen in the future than it does today i just dont see organized crime as a new and emerging threat she said theyve always been here still are and will be technology has changed how the criminal element works ms bears added but thats the same as it has changed things for most legitimate busi nesses ell your unwanted 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