By Doug Draper
The province’s Liberal government is providing the Niagara Regional Police Service close to $800,000 in funding over the next two years to “reduce future criminal activity and make communities safer,” St Catharines MPP and Ontario Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister Jim Bradley announced during a media conference at the NRP headquarters this January 28.
Ontario Minister and St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley
The funding for the NRP is a piece of the $15 million Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced a day earlier (on January 27) for police departments across the province for what the government calls its ‘Provincial Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy’.
“Rooting out gangs from our neighbourhoods, taking guns off our streets and giving young Ontarians opportunities for a better, more productive future, all help reduce future criminal activity and make communities safer,” said Bradley in a media statement released in concert with his announcement at the NRP headquarters.
NRP Chief Wendy Southall, who joined Bradley for the announcement, said that “Our Guns, Gangs and Grows team dismantled a large-scale marijuana grow operation that was helping to fuel the drug trade and the import of illegal weapons,” said NRPS Chief Wendy Southall. “PAVIS grants help us to target criminal gangs and activity that put Niagara neighbourhoods at risk.”
Gary Burroughs, chair of Niagara’s regional government, added that “an increase in funding for programs like PAVIS benefits all communities in Niagara. Stamping out gangs, seizing weapons and fighting the illegal drug trade creates a safer, more liveable, community for residents and their families.”
The media release circulated by Bradley’s office noted that; “PAVIS funding has led to the creation of the Integrated Guns and Gangs Unit, comprising officers from the NRPS and police services in Halton, Hamilton and Brantford. The unit has identified and is monitoring several gangs active in the Golden Horseshoe area. …
“Since 2003, the provincial government has provided funding to put 85 more officers on Niagara streets, and today’s PAVIS announcement is Ontario’s latest commitment to provide safe communities for Ontario families to live and learn.”
Niagara At Large is posting below the media release the premier’s office circulated on January 27 and encourages you to share your comments below.
Safer Streets For Ontario Families
January 27, 2011
McGuinty Government Boosts Support For Successful Anti-Violence Strategy
Ontario police services are getting more resources to prevent gun and gang violence in their communities and make local neighbourhoods a safer place to live, work and play.
Through the Provincial Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy (PAVIS), Ontario will provide 17 police services with a 41 percent funding increase to support specialized teams that root out gangs and stop violent crime in its tracks.
Modeled after the Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy (TAVIS), local PAVIS projects are already working to make Ontario’s communities safer. Since 2007, these initiatives have led to more than 1,100 arrests, 2,000 criminal charges laid, and the removal of 200 illegal firearms.
Preventing crime and promoting safety are part of the Open Ontario plan to provide safe communities for Ontario families to live and learn.
QUOTES
“Making our communities safer is working – guns and gangs activity and other violent crimes have declined since 2003. Our dedicated police force risk everything to ensure that 13 million Ontarians have safe communities to live and learn”
– Jim Bradley, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services –
“We are committed to combating guns and gangs across this province, vigorously prosecuting charges, and working collaboratively with law enforcement, justice and community partners to make our neighbourhoods safer.”
– Chris Bentley, Attorney General of Ontario –
“The Ontario Government’s commitment to PAVIS funding allows police services to effectively target criminals and to remove guns from our communities. The strategy helps increase community safety by involving citizens in efforts to rid Ontario neighbourhoods of gang activity and drug dealing.”
QUICK FACTS
· The McGuinty government is allocating $15 million to PAVIS over the next two years.
· From that total, $1 million will be made available to other municipal and First Nations police services not currently involved in the strategy.
· Since 2003, the McGuinty Government has put 2,000 more police officers on Ontario streets and established a first-of-its-kind, $51 million Guns and Gangs Strategy that enables criminal and justice systems to work collaboratively to rid Ontario’s streets of guns and gangs
· Since 2003, overall crime rate in Ontario has declined 17 per cent, including an 11 per cent reduction in violent crime.
LEARN More by Clicking On –
Police And Province Working Together To Rid Ontario Streets Of Guns And Gangs
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