Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 29, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba Saturday special Winnipeg free press saturday july 29, 2006 a13 make thieves pay rage and frustration Colour readers reactions to Auto theft crisis y of re mad As hell and you re not going to take it anymore. On wednesday i asked free press readers and bloggers to join in a conversation about our Auto theft crisis. I was looking for solutions suggestions and offering a Chance for you to vent your frustrations. You did to disappoint me. More than 200 people responded Many sharing their per Sonal experiences. There was Susan Hovi whose elderly mothers car was Bro Ken into at an Airport hotel. Her mom lost personal papers some jewelry and most important her peace of mind. I heard from the Guevara family who recently moved to Winnipeg from British Columbia and woke up one morning this week to find their car missing. There was a recent transferee from Toronto who had his car stolen from the St. Vital Centre parking lot. Sylvia ban Field wrote of having three cars stolen. Carey Lauder a fringe Volunteer vented after having her car window smashed her stereo taken and $10 in change swiped. So what Are the suggestions the first is the most obvious. Don to leave anything of value in your vehicles. The second invest in a club or an immobilizer. As much As it frosts you to spend Money to protect your property from punks these things work. You lock the doors on your House Don to you now we get into the crime and punishment suggestions. Many called for drastic or violent measures ? a sign of How sick and tired people Are of punks running the streets. Singa pore was raised As a Good example because they Cane offend ers there. Other readers called for Public lashings the posting of guilty kids photos incarceration for Young offend ers and putting the names of the convicted on billboards. I can to buy any of those ideas but i sure understand the frustration behind them. Many of you called for an end to the Young offenders act believing correctly or not that this would Stop protecting juvenile criminals from consequence. What does make sense is the idea that there should be some tangible result if you re caught stealing a car. The revolving door has to Stop especially for the gang of 50 who form the Core of our repeat offenders. Maybe the authorities can go after the parents or guardians if there Are any. Do we make the kids pay for the damages do we form work Crews and make these toughs pay their debt to society that Way Force these kids to apolo Gize to victims there has to be some method of ensuring restitution. Some of you ? and Here san idea i agree with ? think Busi Nesses especially shopping centres and movie theatres should have frequent parking lot patrols to protect patrons. The final word though goes to Margaret Shaw Mackinnon who argued passionately that cracking Down on kids is not the answer. Addressing the Core issues of child poverty neglected kids Phil Hossack / Winnipeg free press and the indifference of society to the under privileged is the Only path to Hope she wrote. I Don to have any More answers now that i did when this Experiment began. I am appalled by your stories and sympathetic to your fear and rage. I do know that come october i will be asking every May Oral candidate what they intend to do about the problem. Without leadership there is no Hope. Lindor Reynolds blogs at i woke up this morning and found my car stolen. We arrived in Winnipeg Sun Day afternoon from . We wanted to relocate Here. We found Winnipeg had a lot to offer. Now i feel crushed. I a angry and frustrated. The car theft is making me rethink the reasons Why we came Here. Perhaps its a Wake up Call. ? the Guevara family both the Winnipeg police department and Mph have confirmed there is a known Core group of car thieves com mitting a Large percentage of these car thefts. There have been multiple reports of individuals being apprehended released and caught again the same Day if these individuals were incarcerated the theft rate would decline considerably. The Young offenders act has sheltered these individuals from prose cution and accountability and will continue to contribute to High crime theft rates until it is repealed. ? Al Crossley i think the City and province should form a task Force with Learned col leagues who work with the troubled teens to determine what should be done. My uneducated recommendation would be to see them go to Boot Camps when caught. Perhaps we should have social workers look into their families to see Why children Are out so late. Is it Only a matter of time until these Chil Dren become involved in other criminal activities it is time to address this problem now before More people get killed in accidents from these joyrides. ? Lynne Smith just Reading of a Case in middles Brough in the . Where authorities have posted a Large picture of a continually offending Young culprit and a description of his crimes ? mostly vandalism ? on the Back of local buses ? Robert Kirkpatrick what Are the municipal or provincial politicians doing to lobby for greater punishments for these crimes furthermore what Are the police doing to prevent this activity after one week in Winnipeg i can Tell you that i be met some very Nice people and have enjoyed some of what the City has to offer but i can to imagine residing Long term in a place where crime is so easily dismissed. I be just spent three years in Toronto and i did to have one single experience dealing with crime. ? Scott Winhold Mph should encourage anti theft devices and it is great to Tell us to keep valuables out of sight but lets put the responsibility where it lies on the guilty. Does anyone believe that not giving these children Drivers licences at 16 will matter do they have licences now when they Are speeding All Over the City for now lets publish their Pic Tures so we can be aware of who they Are. I also like the idea of having the offenders repay the Cost of their dam Ages from their pay cheques when they Start working. If authorities know who the famous 50 repeat offenders Are let us see their faces and let us All be aware if they Are walking in our neighbourhood or in our shopping centres so we can protect our vehicles our Chil Dren and our property. ? Judy Batten Why Don to we get a petition going from All the citizens of Winnipeg and demand that something be done other than a slap on the wrist our privacy Laws which Only Benefit the criminal the laxity of punishment for minors and a Lack of productive anti crime Educa Tion for the thieves just make it More difficult for the average citizen. ? Marlene Braun More police officers in More vehicles making More patrols especially in High risk locations. The 2006 City of Winnipeg budget includes almost four million dollars in cultural Grants which if redirected would go a Long Way toward paying the costs of More police. I Don to need More culture if the streets that get me to these cultural events Are unsafe to be out on. When a vehicle is stolen it should be mandatory that the owner install an immobilizer prior to getting it Back from the police department or Mph. Manitoba Public insurance has a pro Gram where they Supply an immobilizer for free to the most commonly stolen vehicles. This program should be enlarged to include All vehicles that Are stolen at least once encourage the formation of More Cit Izen on patrol programs. Communities that have Active Copp groups have shown significant reductions in Vandal ism break and enters Graffiti Etc. As citizens we need to take More responsibility for the safety of our communities make parents financially responsible for the damage caused by their Chil Dren. The supervision and discipline of children ? the teaching of right and wrong ? is first and Foremost a parental responsibility not society a. If a child juvenile steals and damages a vehicle the province should add the Cost of the repairs to the parents own vehicle registration secured by a Lien against the vehicle. There is no ques Tion that if i had to pay a few thousand dollars in additional premiums because my child stole a car i would be a lot More diligent about where he was and what he was doing. Multiple offenders particularly those on the police departments watch list should be required to Wear an elec tronic Bracelet combined with a curfew so they can be kept track of. These individuals have repeatedly demonstrated that they cannot be trusted or that they Are unwilling to abide by the rules. The consequences of their actions Are the loss of freedoms and privileges that the rest of us have. The costs of monitoring this program would be offset by the reduction in insurance and policing costs ? Rick Koss if the judicial system makes it a Point of making the parents guardians pay from their hard earned wages or government cheques i Don to doubt for a minute that we will have kids who will Stop because their parents Are now More involved than Ever. ? Gloria Smith take a walk in Manhattan and you wont go far before you see some of new Yorks finest on foot on horse on motorcycle in cars Etc. A Strong police presence was critical in new Yorks turnaround. How Long will politicos Trot out flashy photo of gimmicks instead of actually sending out More people whose Job it is to enforce the Law ? blog comment by windbag like countless Winni Eggers i have been a victim of car vandalism theft and Rotten Drivers on the streets. I understand that we need to show Visi tors our Best Side but i fail to under stand Why the citizens and taxpayers in our City must endure the surging ran Dom acts of vandalism or the danger of being smashed into by a Juvie in a stolen car. We re unable to even run into a 7-eleven for a Slurpee without fearing our cars and valuables Are at risk. Perhaps the City should step it up a notch and show some consideration for its own before showering the occasional tourist with treasures and red carpet treatment. ? r. Paisner ;