Comrade Miller Is A Failure When It Comes To Street Smarts

The criminals took over the streets when left wingnuts
social engineers and social in-activists turned the police into social workers with guns and their supporters like Comrade Miller and Toronto Clown Council have just made the problem worse.

Retired cop shoots holes in mayor's strategy

By GARY GRANT

Does anyone really believe that a ban on handguns in the City of Toronto will have a meaningful impact on the gunplay on our streets?

The mayor and his supporters on council think so, but while the idea is noble and well intentioned, such a ban would not slow down the gang bangers, drug dealers and thugs one bit. There is too much money and turf at stake.

Cops know most of the shootings in this city are related to the drug trade. Whether it is a drug rip-off, a turf war, a revenge shooting, a home invasion or an addict pulling a robbery at an ATM, drugs are the elephant in the room.

Take the case of Andre Blair who callously pumped four bullets into the head and chest of Andrew Latouche as he sat in the front seat of a van. Blair was already out on two separate bails, one for possessing a semi-automatic handgun and another for drug trafficking when he calmly pulled the trigger less than a foot away from his victim in March of 2006.

Do you think a ban on hand guns would have stopped this cold-blooded killer? Not bloody likely. These thugs don't respect bans and will always find a way to obtain their weapon of choice as there is no shortage of sources to illegally obtain a hand gun.

It is well known in law enforcement circles that Canadian criminals send high quality marijuana and ecstasy to the States in return for cocaine and hand guns. Free trade is alive and well.

Let's get real, hand guns for all intents and purposes are banned. It is a criminal offence to possess a hand gun without a permit.

Stringent conditions must be met before anyone is permitted to own, let alone carry a hand gun, yet these punks remain armed to the teeth with illegal guns despite the best efforts of Toronto Police.

The real issue is why was Andre Blair, and hundreds of others like him, out on the street when he was already facing weapons charges? While out on bail for the weapons charge Blair was arrested for trying to sell cocaine to an undercover cop and, unbelievably, was granted bail once again! Time and time again violent criminals are arrested only to be turned loose by the courts enabling them to continue their criminal lifestyle.

STAGGERING RATES OF RECIDIVISM

In the five years prior to my retirement last June, the recidivism rates for firearms related offences were staggering. The number of offences committed by persons already on bail for a firearms offence increased by over 125% and fully one-quarter of all firearms offences were committed by an offender on bail.

Similar numbers apply to repeat offenders who were already on probation for a firearms offence. In fact, the number of people arrested for a firearms offence with a previous conviction was higher than first-time offenders. Clearly, it is many of the same gunmen who continue to kill, maim and intimidate due to a revolving door system of justice that keeps letting them back out on the street despite the obvious risks.

This is not a battle of ideologies between the anti-gun and pro-gun sides. This is an all-out war against organized crime, street gangs, drug dealers and various other low-lifes who glorify gun violence. The Toronto Police Service uses multiple strategies to wage this war.

SIGNIFICANT SUCCESS

Community Mobilization, the Guns and Gangs task force, the Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy (TAVIS) and the Crime Stoppers Cash for Guns program have all had significant success in removing dangerous offenders and crime guns from our streets.

The province has weighed in with funding for two additional TAVIS teams in high-risk areas. I hope the funding is long term rather than a quick fix because this is going to be a protracted war.

Is it too much to ask our courts to take a hard look at who they are releasing on bail, to prosecute those who fail to appear for their court appearances and to treat repeat offenders with the severity the community deserves?