NATIVES WELCOME GUARDIAN ANGELS

Many Aboriginals Would Join Crime Fighters, Native Leader Says

Many aboriginal people will join the Guardian Angels if the
crime-fighting organization tackles drug and violence problems in
Saskatoon and Regina, says Native leader Lawrence Joseph.

"I would very much welcome them into our neighbourhoods without any
reluctance whatsoever," the vice-chief of the Federation of
Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) said Wednesday.

"I don't give a damn if they (criminals) are First Nation or
otherwise. If it's going to do the work we've been trying to do,
let's go. I'm all for it. There's enough pain out there."

Statistics show the majority of gang members in Saskatchewan are
First Nations youth. Joseph dismisses any suggestion that aboriginal
people would view the Guardian Angels as targeting their people.

"Not at all," he said, adding the Angels would instead be viewed as
an alternative to gang membership for wayward youths searching for belonging.

He expects First Nations chiefs would encourage their people to join
the Angels organization.

"We can join hands and together flush out the drug pushers and
criminals who prey on both the young people and elderly."

Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa told The StarPhoenix Tuesday of
his intention to visit Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg this summer to
gauge community interest in establishing a chapter in each of those cities.

Each chapter is made up entirely of local volunteers who patrol
neighbourhoods in groups of six to 10, confronting and, if necessary,
placing offenders under citizens' arrest.

The Angels organization was founded in New York during the
crime-ridden 1970s and was instantly labelled a troop of vigilantes
because of the organization's in-your-face methods and military-like
uniform of red berets and jackets. But there has never been a single
charge laid against the Angels in 27 years, noted Sliwa.

The group's success has spawned chapters in cities around the world,
with Canadian chapters planned this year for Toronto, Calgary,
Vancouver and possibly Edmonton.

Sliwa has been snubbed by police and politicians in many centres he's
visited, but the Guardian Angels still set roots in many of those
cities. Although the Angels prefer to have an amicable relationship
with municipal leaders, it's citizens, not administrators, who
operate the chapters, he said.

The Angels are entirely self-funded, requiring nothing from any level
of government, Sliwa said.

The Saskatoon Police Service has said it would gladly meet with Sliwa
to discuss his intentions. Joseph is also requesting a meeting on
behalf of First Nations, but it wouldn't be about the Angels game
plan as much as how the FSIN could help.

"There is an urgent need for safer communities," said Joseph. "We've
been thinking about doing something like that ourselves, as First
Nations, to solve the gang problem and other things about this
dangerous time we live in."

At a recent all-chiefs meeting, the FSIN passed first reading of a
piece of legislation called the First Nations Police/Peacekeeping
Act. It would result in the creation, on reserves, of a special
police force similar to the Guardian Angels, Joseph said. There would
be an emphasis on preventative measures, as well as counselling and
social programming, rather than prison. But if it comes to the
latter, the peacekeepers would partner with off-reserve courts and
law enforcement officials.

The legislation must still pass two more readings. If approved, it
will be at least a year before anything happens, Joseph estimated.

The catalyst for the peacekeepers is the lack of existing police
resources to effectively patrol reserves, Joseph said. When the
treaties were signed, there was a promise by the federal government
that First Nations would be protected by the "red coats," referring
to the RCMP.

"The police simply don't have the manpower and we understand that,"
Joseph said. "But instead of expecting the police to do everything
for us, we can do things ourselves."

Perhaps the peacekeepers will establish urban units to work alongside
the Angels, Joseph suggested.

Crime watch is more effective when done by those living in the
immediate area, not residents from other parts of the city, say
community associations.

"There's more of a sense of ownership in getting to know your
neighbours and building friendships," said Anita Kinzel, co-ordinator
of the King George community watch and citizen patrol programs.

When people know their neighbours, those who don't belong are easily
identified, said Kinzel, whose patrol group once prevented a break-and-enter.