Pubdate: Sat, 28 Feb 2009 Source: Kelowna Capital News (CN BC) Copyright: 2009, West Partners Publishing Ltd. Contact: http://www.kelownacapnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1294 Author: Karin Wilson Note: Karin Wilson is a journalist and staff minister at the Kelowna Centre for Spiritual Living. MORE COPS, JAILS, LAWS MAY NOT BE ANSWER Our B.C. politicians are up in arms these days about gang violence-and no wonder. More than a dozen people have been shot in public, including a high-profile case in Kelowna, seven are dead and the public fears the numbers will only escalate. Police and politicians argue the solutions are simple-build more prisons, hire more cops and expand the laws dealing with surveillance. This isn't anything new. Pick any annual budget meeting of your local council and there's bound to be an official asking for at least one of these things. As for expanding the law surrounding surveillance, especially changes to the laws in light of the Internet, that's been tried a few times. And it has failed every time. But this time things could be different. With all the gang violence, B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal and Solicitor General John van Dongen are trying to make hay while the sun shines. And so far, the stakes are looking pretty high. I feel for the police in this situation. It can't be easy gathering evidence from a bunch of people with possibly no fixed address, a pay-per-call cell phone plan and enough money to throw the phone away the moment there's a whiff of anyone listening in. It must be infuriating. It does seem to me that the balance of power is heavily in favour of the criminals. But I'm wondering if that's just me seeing what everyone wants me to see. Police, like any other group, want to keep their jobs. And they have some compelling arguments for why they should keep them-they fight crime. But if they were really fighting crime, why aren't more of them working to lobby government about spending more resources on prevention? I'm not talking about more DARE programs in schools. I'm not even talking about things like legalizing illicit drugs-something the B.C. Civil Liberties Union seems to consider would be a good idea. What I'm talking about is lobbying jointly with other social agencies to bring about real change. Think about it. There's a good chance the 20-something thugs of today are the teens and pre-teens of yesterday whose parents abused drugs, alcohol, beat them, kicked them out of the house or simply weren't there for them. They could have spent Grade 10 couch-surfing before landing in care and finally ending up in the youth justice system. That can't be good for anyone. And I know it's not good for our society. On the other hand, this week I met a woman who told me there was nothing that could stop her from her path to self-destruction, until she decided she had a choice. At some point, she decided what she wanted to do with her life. And, equally important, someone was there to help her. We can spend millions on fighting crime but maybe there's a different idea we haven't thought of before. I don't know what that solution is, but I know for sure if we're patient, it will come. And, I trust that whatever happens as a result of lobbying in Ottawa, it too will be perfect. Karin Wilson is a journalist and staff minister at the Kelowna Centre for Spiritual Living. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin