Pubdate: Thu, 29 Dec 2005 Source: Toronto Star (CN ON) Copyright: 2005 The Toronto Star Contact: http://www.thestar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456 Author: Kurt Komaromi TRY GETTING TOUGHER New York became a much safer city when the mayor and police cracked down on petty and violent crime Re: `Like any big American city' Dec. 27. Please don't insult Americans by comparing Toronto's current outbreak of street violence to American cities. While many U.S. cities do have higher rates of violent crime, there are important differences to note: # Our police forces are far more aggressive and active in combating gang violence. The Toronto police are paralyzed by political correctness -- unwilling to target the largely black gangs that are perpetrating most of the shootings. They can only mouth platitudes while innocent people are murdered on the streets. # Convicted criminals receive much tougher sentences in the United States, including death. No one goes to jail in Canada. If they do, it's not for very long. Karla Homolka is the poster child for a lenient criminal justice system that pays no respect to the victims of violent crime. # We still enforce tough drug laws while Canada has moved to decriminalize drugs with a misguided theory that crime rates will be lowered. There are many factors that influence crime rates and I don't pretend to understand them all. I do know that ignoring the root causes of your problems and blaming Americans is not likely to make Toronto any safer. Crime continues to be a significant problem in many of our cities but at least we are fighting back. When Mayor Rudy Giuliani and the New York City police started a crackdown on both petty and violent crime, the results were quite significant. New York became a much safer city and the difference in attitudes on the streets was palpable. I lived in Toronto for 18 years and still consider it one of the best cities in the world. It's a shame that authorities there take such a laissez-faire approach to crime. How many more people have to die before someone decides to take action? Kurt Komaromi Ithaca, N.Y. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin