Spike in gun and gang violence in Canada has experts worried

Politicians, law enforcement experts, academics and community members have gathered in Ottawa for theSummit on Gun and Gang Violence to discussa troubling increase in gun-related incidents and gang activity in Canada.

The summit is being hosted byPublic Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, who in November announced the federal government would be spending $327.6 million over fiveyearson anti-gun and gang initiatives, and $100 million annually thereafter.

"We're seeing young males resorting to the use of firearms where they hadn't in the past," saidInsp. Mark Patterson of the Ottawa Police Service'sguns and gangs unit.

Patterson, who is attending the summit, said he's lookingforward to getting a national perspective on the issue that goes beyond law enforcement.

"What's happening in Toronto might not be what's happening here[and] what's happening in Montreal," he said.

Like other major cities in the country, the capital hasseen a spike in shootings and gang-related violence. In 2017, there were 74shootings in Ottawa compared to just 32 in 2013.

"We're struggling in relation to why that's happening," said Patterson, noting that more and more gang members are using guns to settle personal and drugdisputes.

Last December, Ottawa police arrested 13 people and seized two dozen firearms following a six-month investigationcalled "Project Sabotage". One of the firearms recovered by police had a 'bump stock', an illegal modification that simulates the firing characteristics of a fully automatic weapon.

Patterson said some of the weaponswere stolen from lawful gun owners.

"Now we're seeing a trend of maybe 50/50, if not moredomestically-sourcedguns as opposed to smuggled guns from the United States," he said.

Looking at the data

In 2016, police reported 141gangrelated homicidesin Canada 112 of them firearm-related according to Statistics Canada Director General LynnBarr-Telford, who is responsiblefor health and justice statistics.

"Since 2013, we've seen, in our largest cities, that gang-related homicides have almost doubled," she said.

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Barr-Telfordwill discuss trends in gun crime and gang-related homicides at the summit, as well as areas where experts can improve theirknowledge.

"Some of the things that we don't know are things such as the link between firearm-related crime and organized crime or the the origin of firearms involved in gun crime."

Barr-Telford said that Regina and Winnipeg have the highest rates of firearm-related violent crime among Canadian cities, followed byMoncton, Edmonton and Toronto.

The impact on communities

Liberal MPBill Blair spent nearly 40 years as aToronto police officer, andthe last 10 years of his career as Toronto's police chief. He said theavailability of illegal guns especially ones with larger-capacity magazines has had a horrible impact on communities.

"When there is an incidence of violence, it can result in many random victims," he said.

"It has a very negative effect in taking away people's sense of safety and security in their communities because these crimes are shocking and frightening for people."

Blair said hebelieves that while police agencies need government support to combat gun and gang violence, communities also can tackle the problem.

"Community-based interventions involvingdifferentsocial service providers, educators and community members can also play a significant role," he said.