Pubdate: Tue, 16 Dec 2014
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/letters.html
Website: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Shaamini Yogaretnam
Page: A3

GROUP CALLS FOR 'CRUSH' OF GANGS IN WEST END

Residents heightened their call for police to do more to curb 
violence in their west-side neighbourhoods after a police 
announcement Monday publicizing results of a six month gang and drug 
operation, one day ahead of an emergency meeting about gang shootings.

Addressing the police services board meeting Monday night, Geoffrey 
Sharpe, who represents an ad hoc committee of residents in Ward 7, 
said a year of record-high shootings concentrated in the district 
needs more effort from police.

"The time has come for a far more aggressive policy than suppression 
of gangs," Sharpe said. "This just simply cannot go on."

Chief Charles Bordeleau said the force has heard the concerns from 
areas such as Penny Drive, which has been hit by several shootings in 
recent weeks.

"We've listened to them, and we've responded," Bordeleau said. "We 
have increased our patrols."

Sharpe said that if these bursts of violence were happening in 
middle-class neighbourhoods rather than in areas that are 
predominantly social housing complexes, then maybe politicians and 
police would be spurred to action.

"The past few weeks, the record speaks for itself," he said.

"We understand the police are doing their best," Sharpe said, before 
calling for a "serious allocation of resources."

Sharpe said he specifically wants to see more community police 
offices, more special constables designated, and Ottawa Community 
Housing encouraged to install closed-circuit television cameras in 
high-risk areas.

"It is time for the police to demonstrate ... a firm commitment that 
reassures residents," Sharpe said. He wants to see police "crush" gangs.

Police earlier in the day released the results of Project Karma and 
Project Calamity - parallel operations conducted by the guns and 
gangs, and drug units beginning in June.

The operations netted 254 charges against 27 people, resulted in 
seven firearms being seized, along with more than 400 rounds of 
ammunition - including 50 hollowpoint bullets - and took in drugs and 
$50,000 in cash.

Bordeleau pointed to the projects, though they targeted the city's 
south-end, not the west, as demonstrating that police continue to 
crack down on gangs.

"Projects like Calamity and Karma are indications that we're actively 
working at holding offenders accountable," Bordeleau said. "We will 
lay charges when we can and bring them before the courts."

Police saw a spike in gun violence in the summer months when they 
began the operations.

"What we do is we look at where those incidents are taking place, we 
look at the intelligence information, and we'll redeploy resources as 
to where those high number of incidents are taking place, targeting 
those individuals who are involved in these types of activities," 
Bordeleau said

Police said their goals were to specifically target shootings and 
drug-trafficking.

Both the guns and gangs unit and the drug squad, whose warrants were 
predominantly executed in the west end, had previously announced some 
of the arrests earlier in the year.
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