MP says city’s crime committee should be model for rest of Canada

Nice to hear our ideas are considered as a great model. Some great work is being done by our committee and I look forward to their report.


MP says city’s crime committee should be model for rest of Canada
MIKE CARSON Transcontinental Media
SUMMERSIDE – Summerside’s Safety and Crime Prevention Committee should serve as a model for communities across Canada in dealing with crime, says Mark Holland, Opposition critic for public safety and national security.“One of the main things I’m hearing as I take a tour across the country dealing with public safety issues is how important it is to have solutions driven at the community level,” said Holland, MP for Ajax-Pickering in Ontario. “I was particularly impressed with this group both because of their experience but also with the approach they’re taking which was to really look at what was going to make a difference for their home community — what were the actions they could take.”Holland said the next step in the process, once they have developed a strategy, is to approach the federal and provincial governments to fund the solutions they need.“One of the things they are expressing frustration with is there is some funding out there but they have to go chasing it in different directions and many times it is inappropriate to what is needed on the ground,” he said. One of the issues raised was funding that has been lost for intervention and crime prevention programs.“While enforcement is still important but if you’re not doing those things to stop the crime from happening and reaching out and helping those agencies that are really reaching out to youth, then you’re going to be facing more problems as a community,” Holland said.He said when communities come with solutions on how to deal with crime in their area the federal government has to be a part of that.“Really use what’s happening in Summerside as a model,” he said. “This is what we should be doing. We should have the community get together with local experience and expertise, ideally with the character of the group there.”While sentencing in the judicial system was not a major concern, Holland said there was an issue with the lack of treatment criminals receive while incarcerated to deal with their addictions or specific problem areas.“You want to make sure the people are getting the help to stop re-offending,” he said.Holland said Summerside is not alone in this effort and communities across the country are experiencing similar problems. He did say one big difference is the approach the city of Summerside has taken to dealing with the issue of crime and its prevention.“The community has gotten together in a very constructive way and are saying ‘Let’s be the drivers of solutions here,’” he said. “What is unique here is this community-led approach.”