August 13, 2009

If the trend over the last five years continues, next year
will see a further drop in crime according to Statistics
Canada. Conversely, the fear of crime will increase.

There were 77,000 fewer reported crimes in 2008, including
28,000 fewer thefts of less than $5,000. There were 22,000
fewer break-ins and 20,000 fewer motor vehicle thefts - - a
reduction in the overall national crime rate of five per
cent.

Ironically, the baby boomers are responsible for both the
decrease in crime and the increase in fear.

Kelly Sundberg, who teaches at Calgary's Mount Royal
College, explains that most crime is committed by young men.
"When we get into our 30s and 40s and beyond, we don't
really feel like committing petty crime." Aging boomers
find it's too much trouble to get up from the easy chair and
rob a convenience store.

As the bloom of the boomer generation fades, they feel more
vulnerable and fearful of becoming victims instead of
perpetrators. A study by the John Howard Society indicates:
"Elderly people have a high fear level in relation to many
crimes because they feel vulnerable. This vulnerability
stems from the physical and social limitations that elderly
people have which renders them unable to defend themselves
or to seek support and help."

Regardless, the physical decline and sense of vulnerability
is exaggerated relative to the actual risk. "Elderly people
are not the specific targets of most crimes, but their level
of fear exceeds their risk of victimization."

Another group that feels disproportionately fearful is
women, mainly because women are ten times more likely to be
sexually assaulted than men. While women have a much
greater fear of crime than men, they are victimized by crime
less than men. The fear of sexual assault becomes pervasive
and transferred to other types of crimes.

In an attempt to protect women, society instills a sense of
vulnerability. "Women do not simply become aware of this
fear one day, nor are they born with it; women are
socialized into thinking that they are vulnerable to attack
if they, for example, go out alone at night. Parents, peers
and media emphasize and reinforce this fear, and women are
expected to succumb to it," says the study.

When it comes to crime reduction, there are two schools of
thought. One is to reduce societal factors that produce
criminals and the other is harsher penalties for offenders.

For those who think we are too soft on crime, Conservative
plans to build more prisons will seem like a good idea.
When he was Public Safety Minister, Stockwell Day said that
tougher gun control laws alone would put 300 to 400
criminals away each year at a cost of $82,000 each.

Tougher drug laws would catch thousands more. In the U.S.,
the biggest increase U.S. prisoner populations in the last
two decades have been drug infractions.

The John Howard Society doesn't see more prisons as a
solution. "Not every problem is fixed with a hammer," they
warn. While the tough rhetoric may sound appealing,
criminalization falls disproportionately on those least able
to defend themselves: "The young, the mentally ill, the
illiterate, marginalized aboriginals."

The split between strategies of social engineering and
harsher penalties is revealed by opinion polls.

In one poll, Canadians were asked to pick causes of crime
from a list. While some picked "illegal drug activity," an
equal number picked "poor parenting and broken homes." Next
choice was "soft justice system" even as others picked
"poverty." The remainder of choices reflected the divide
between those blame crime on the lack of discipline in
schools versus a failure of society to provide a nurturing
environment.

For those Canadians who think criminals are made, not born,
community-based crime prevention programs will give people a
chance to develop pro-social behaviour, get jobs, learn life
skills and integrate into society. "These policies are not
'soft', they are simply 'smart'," says the John Howard
Society.

The Kamloops business community seems to agree. North Shore
BIA mangager Peter Murie and Kamloops Central BIA manager
Gay Pooler support policies that "manage the social street
scene."

Improvements to welfare that allow recipients to keep some
earnings, and better social housing not only reduce crime
they reduce impediments to business such as panhandling,
drug dealing and prostitution.

As usual, baby-boomers will shape society. Will they lead
us into gated communities or into an integrated, inclusive,
society?
 

David Charbonneau is the owner of Trio Technical.
He can be reached at dcharbonneau13@shaw.ca

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