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.
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