Dr. Mark Totten, a sociologist and an expert on Canadian street gangs, says that while the federal government’s get tough approach on crime has its place, that alone will do nothing to stem the proliferation of native gangs that are largely a result of the intense poverty in some First Nations communities.
“We just can’t imprison our way out of this. The answer is not building more jail cells,” says Totten.
“It gets the bad guys off the street for a little bit, but the bad guys still continue to do bad things when they’re in prison because prisons are such a violent place. They’re also gang-infested, and just because you lock up a gang leader doesn’t mean they’re going to stop running their gang.
“One of the better ways to run a gang is to be sentenced to a prison or a jail in this country.”
For every gang member taken off the street, he says, “a couple more are going to take his or her place.” In addition, those who are not members of a gang when first imprisoned most likely will be by the time they are released. Because of the violence, many prisoners need the protection of a gang to survive.
Adding to the problem, says Totten, is that aboriginal birth rates are rapidly increasing. He estimates that in the next five to ten years, many big urban centres as well as smaller cities will have very high aboriginal populations.
“If we don’t radically change how we deal with these issues, then we’re going to have double the number of gang members, double the number or homicides and suicides, double the number of aboriginal people locked up in facilities,” he says.
