SOLUTIONS...

TCHC buildings violent 'drug fortresses'

Teen charged in Jane-Finch shooting

* turn police back into crime fighters instead of social workers
*special courts for possession and use of "deadly weapons" coupled with mandatory sentencing and no bail
* gulag style facilities for those convicted and have gangstas affiliation
* review incomes of tenants and make it easier to evict persons that are linked to gangsta activities
* monitor "gang/crime" within other ethnic groups

...from the frontlines
THUGS DON’T PRACTICE
Re “Gangs, drugs and guns still rule” (Joe Warmington, Feb. 7): While serving a three-year term on the National Parole Board I sat in judgment with a colleague every day in federal institutions deciding if parole had been earned by an inmate serving more than two years to life. I saw many young men convicted of gun crimes, usually semi-literate and gang members. A gun, almost always loaded with six to 13 rounds of ammunition, gave them the swagger and importance amongst their peers that they craved. I always asked them where they learned to shoot. The answer was always: “I never fired it until I did the deed that landed me here behind bars.” Our police officers receive intensive training using their side arms along with regular range training by professionals. Contrast that with men, some barely out of puberty and full of testosterone, carrying loaded weapons around that they have never even fired once! Is it any wonder that innocent bystanders are often the ones to die? A mandatory prison term will perhaps give them time to consider the seriousness that society places on untrained criminals carrying loaded guns. At the very least, it will keep them off our streets for three or more years.
GARNET BARBER
MARKHAM