DISORDERED COMMUNITIES

The gang problem in Ottawa is small, relative to other cities. But
that doesn't make it easy to solve.

Ottawa's level of gang activity is so far behind other Canadian cities
that it would be ridiculous to use it as justification for increases
to the police budget, a budget that is already difficult to keep under
control. Besides, there's no reason to think that more enforcement
alone would solve the problems this city does have.

Cities across North America are finding that reducing gang activity
requires a creative, holistic approach. It's a problem that grows out
of the economic and cultural conditions in a neighbourhood, so the way
to tackle it is to change those conditions.

The first step in fighting crime, however, as with fighting cancer, is
to determine exactly where the tumours are.

A new report from Crime Prevention Ottawa identifies this city's
priority areas. Katharine Kelly, the Carleton University sociology
professor who wrote the report, found that there are only two
neighbourhoods where gang activity has reached a significant level.
Those two neighbourhoods are the South East Priority Area (the rough
boundaries are the south end of Ledbury Park, Bank Street, Russell
Road and Heron Road); and the West Priority Area (bounded by Highway
417, the Ottawa River, Pinecrest Road and Woodridge Crescent). There
are four additional neighbourhoods that are cause for concern.

"These areas are less effective, compared to the city as a whole, in
meeting the needs of their children," the report says.

As well, there is a problem among parents, teachers and community
leaders. For example, in the West Priority Area, some parents are
unfortunately downplaying the gang activity and believe their children
are being unnecessarily harassed by police.

It seems unfathomable that any parent would be unaware of -- or
uninterested in -- a son's involvement in crime, yet it happens.
Sometimes, no one takes notice until a youth is shot or shoots someone
else. So parents whose teenagers are living in vulnerable communities
shouldn't be complacent. The only way to turn a neighbourhood around
is if everyone -- especially parents -- are working toward the same
goals. Some cities have even found that community shaming of dealers
and other criminals can have an effect.

Even something as seemingly unconnected as neighbourhood design can
make a difference. So do programs and recreation areas for youth.
Kelly's report notes that vulnerable neighbourhoods aren't providing
enough services for children between the ages of six and 12, so by the
time they hit the teenage years, they're already "entrenched in
anti-social or high-risk behaviour."

Chris Renwick, an acting inspector with the Ottawa Police, told the
Citizen that "the No. 1 reason for gangs is the distribution of crack
cocaine, and to a lesser extent, the prostitution of young girls." But
there's little evidence that simply cracking down on the traffic in
one particular drug -- be it crack, or meth, or OxyContin -- is likely
to make a fundamental difference

Top-quality policing is needed to keep order and solve homicides after
they occur, but you could double the number of officers on the street
and it won't by itself fix the disordered homes and communities that
make criminality a legitimate career path for a certain number of young men.