CAMPAIGNING ON CRIME

Gangs, Grow Houses, Safety On Markham Candidates' Agendas

The way some candidates tell it, Markham's streets are menaced at
night by criminals and marijuana plants are growing behind almost every door.

Crime is a surprise election issue in the town, fueled by a growing
public awareness that many houses here -- a startling one in 100 last
year -- are nurseries for marijuana.

That, plus occasional purse-snatchings or broken bottles found in
local parks, seem to prove for several candidates that Markham is
becoming less safe.

"York Region has one of the highest concentrations of gangs and
illegal drug activity in Canada," declares a flyer for regional
council candidate Jim Jones but does not add evidence supporting the
statement.

A rival candidate, Marilyn Head, has made neighbourhood safety her top
issue, promising "to see that better and brighter lighting is placed
in every school yard, park and neighbourhood street path". Installing
lights can stop crime, she said, because vandals and other criminals
"don't want witnesses" .

The spread of "grow houses" is worse than most people realize, Bill
O'Donnell, a regional councillor seeking re-election told an
all-candidates meeting recently. "Many of these places are beside you,
next to you and you have a responsibility to spot them and report them
to us."

But Mr. O'Donnell said he worked with the town's hydro utility on an
effective response -- detecting the excessive power use at grow houses
and turning off their power.

This campaign "probably most pro-active in the country", is a great
success, reducing Markham's grow houses from one in 100 homes (a ratio
police now believe is not usual anywhere in Canada) to one in 500,
said Det. Mike Klimm, in charge of York Regional Police grow house
team.

Det. Klimm suggested the tide is turning. Police raided 26 York Region
grow houses in 2000 and 87 in 2001. Last year, they raided 170, 75 of
them in Markham, and turned off power to 161 more.

This year, they have shut down 144, including 55 in Markham, and
turned off power to 47.

Ward 4 candidate Gary Ainsworth is among those who argue the police
force is increasingly understaffed. "Poor planning and budgeting have
left our communities less safe than they were three years ago," he
concluded.

But apart from drug-related charges, police say statistics from
District 5, covering south Whitchurch-Stouffville and all Markham
expect for Thornhill, don't show any recent spike in crime.

Last year, in a district famous for population growth, there were 1497
assaults, robberies and other crimes against persons, a total up just
one incident from 2001.

Crimes against property -- arson, fraud, vandalism -- rose 3.5 per
cent from 2001 to 2002. Drug violations were up 26 per cent, but
police say that's because enforcement increased.

Besides returning to an era of Block Parents and Neighbourhood Watch,
candidates differ on what we can do about crime.

Sunny Dosanjh of Ward 7 said he'll establish a resident's police
liaison committee. Regional council hopeful Siva Shan wants more
police substations and foot patrols.

Ward 5 Don Hutchinson suggests Markham will benefit from community
safety walks with a specially trained officer. "A group of neighbours
co-ordinates a date and time and we walk through your neighbourhood
together to assess crime prevention measures," explained Mr.
Hutchinson, adding such evaluations are being done for Main Street
businesses in Markham and Stouffville. "Let's apply the same concepts
to our neighbourhoods."

Regional candidate Ralph Aselin recalled that during a previous term
on council he created a crime committee to make people aware of what
police can do for them. " We just didn't seem to get people
interested."

But though he wouldn't say the town is less safe, Mr. Aselin thinks
it's starting to look shabby. Markham's southern entrances need
sprucing up and the town should replace its crumbling privacy fences,
he said.