Why Should You Care?

In response to the most recent violent crime numbers that were released by Statistics Canada and which show Manitoba being among the most violent places in Canada, an editorial in The Carillon asked a good question. Do those statistics of increased violence really matter in rural communities like Steinbach? Should you care about increased violence if you don’t personally feel a threat of that violence?

Those are very reasonable questions. After all, even though violence is increasing in our province, there is still a perception that the violence is confined to those in high-risk lifestyles or living in higher crime areas.

Of course, many people do care about increased violence in the province for no other reason than they care about the province itself. Each of us wants to live in a province that has a reputation that will attract families and businesses to live and invest. We have pride in our province and national headlines of violence are not in keeping with what we want for Manitoba.

But there is another, perhaps greater reason to care. Many of the violent acts that we hear about on the news are a result of rival gangs fighting. And they are fighting over something.

Most often, they are fighting over the right to control the distribution of drugs or the distribution of stolen property. Those activities are the financial lifeblood of gangs. And those activities are not limited to the borders of larger cities like Winnipeg or Brandon. The drug trade that gang members are committing violent acts for extends into every community in Manitoba.

Residents of southeastern Manitoba contact me regularly to express their concern over the drugs which are available in our schools and communities. They are rightfully concerned about the fact that drugs are getting more dangerous and their availability is increasing. Any parent or resident who is concerned about drug activity and the impact it may have on their children or grandchildren, should be very concerned about the increased level of violence in Manitoba because there is a direct connection. Gang members are fighting for the opportunity to put those drugs into the hands of young people. The same holds true for stolen goods and their distribution. 

And while it is easy to shrug shoulders and suggest there are no real solutions to the problem, that thankfully isn’t the approach that has been taken in other parts of Canada and North America that have seen their violent crime rates go down as a result of enforcement and support programs.

The question of whether you should care about violent crime statistics depends largely on the concern you hold for other community issues. If you are concerned about the increased availability of drugs in a community, the increased amount of stolen goods or simply the reputation of Manitoba, then these numbers should matter to you greatly.