By Nicolle Amyotte
The story I selected this week, Gang warfare claims 50 lives, authored by Nadia Moharib of the Calgary Sun, speaks to the report last week on Calgary having the highest per capita gang violence rates in the country (see James’ blog entry last week). It is clearly an older version of this report, but I feel that it is still relevant, or even more relevant now than at the time of publishing.
Statistics are listed in the article, specifically the number of casualties, as result of gang activity as well as the number of non-fatal crimes committed between January 1, 2005 and September 9, 2009. In the article, police chief, Rick Hanson, describes the statistics as “Frightening”. The report released last week re-affirms this idea. I feel that having Rick Hanson speak to the press on this issue confirms that this is a definite problem, and one that the police would like to see change.
Sentences later state that the situation may worsen before improving- quoting deputy chief Murray Stooke. He also states that Calgary police do not believe that they have a solution for gang violence just yet, but have had an impact on calming it thus far. This, in addition to Hanson’s comments, is the opinion of the Calgary Police Service.
Countering this opinion, on the online version of the article, an anonymous comment was posted under the name, “Buddy”. He claims that there is too much of a public scare surrounding gang violence when it is simply a regular occurrence in any metropolitan city, as an attempt to get more funding from the province. There is quite clearly a contrast between the opinions of the writer of this article and the public, or “Buddy” at the very least. With the newest report, public opinion will likely only continue to grow in favor of Buddy.
Moharib, N. (September 17, 2009) Gang warfare claims 50 lives. The Calgary Sun. Retrieved November 9, 2009 from http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alberta/2009/09/17/10951246-sun.html
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