Pubdate: Wed, 20 Oct 2010 Source: Prince George Free Press (CN BC) Copyright: 2010 BC Newspaper Group Contact: http://www.pgfreepress.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2135 Author: Arthur Williams TO LOSE TOP RATING, CITY MUST CHANGE ATTITUDES We're number one with a bullet. Prince George has topped the charts this year with Macleans Magazine's annual "Most Dangerous Cities in Canada" rankings. The rankings, based on Statistics Canada crime numbers from 2009, put Prince George's crime rate as 90.41 per cent above the national average. With a nearly 10 percentage point lead over second-place Victoria and 17 percentage point lead over third-place Regina, there is no doubt we're the worst of the worst. The Statistics Canada data looked at homicides, sexual assaults, robberies, auto thefts and break and enters. Prince George's homicide rate was 121.24 per cent above the national average (worthy of seventh place). Sexual assaults are 71.83 per cent above the national average here - a sixth-place finish. For robberies we were a mere 25.69 per cent above the national average and 20th place. Auto thefts were 87.68 per cent above the national average and 14th place. In break and enters Prince George ranked the fourth-highest, 66.62 per cent above the national average. Prince George is in good company in B.C. Half of the top 20 most dangerous cities are in the province. Gangs directly and indirectly contribute to a substantial amount of crime in the city. But gangs are only a symptom; the disease plaguing Prince George is drugs. The production and sale of drugs is the bread and butter of gangs. Prostitution, money laundering, identity theft, extortion, loan sharking, smuggling, etc. are all sidelines in comparison. Fighting for and maintaining control of the drug trade fuels violence by gangs. Consumption of drugs fuels violence and crime by addicts. The police can catch the drug producers and sellers and throw them in jail for awhile, but as long as there are profits to be made others will take their place. If we want to make this a safer community, we need to treat the disease not the symptoms. Providing resources to get addicts the help they need to break the cycle of addiction is critical. We have Baldy Hughes Therapeutic Community just outside the city. It needs more support to treat more addicts and women need someplace like it to go. Preventing new consumers and addicts of drugs is also key. The Prince George Communities That Care program found Prince George as a community more accepting of substance use than other communities in North America. If children feel it is okay to try drugs, or see their parents or other role models using drugs, it makes sense that they are more likely to try it themselves. Buying any type of drugs, even if it is "just a little weed," aids and abets organized crime. Drug dealers aren't your buddy, they aren't harmless or misunderstood. They are opportunistic criminals who contribute to the murders, rapes, assaults, addictions, thefts and overdoses that plague this city. They profit off the sickness plaguing this city. If we're going to change our status as the most dangerous city in Canada, this city needs a major attitude adjustment. We must show proactive, constructive compassion to the addicts and victims, and have zero tolerance for the criminal scum who peddle poison in our streets. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt