Alberta announces crime prevention grants as Calgary shootings increase
Police report 97 shootings in Calgary so far this year
More than $5 million will be doled out over the next two years targeting community initiatives that deter domestic violence or prevent youth from joining gangs.
The announcement by the Alberta government on Wednesday comes as Calgary has seen a rise in shootings and other violent crimes in recent months.
"On the way over here, I was thinking of a number. My number was 97," said Calgary Crime Stoppers director Mark Gerlitz during the press conference where the grant was announced.
"Ninety-seven. As of yesterday, that's how many shootings have occurred in Calgary, and it's still August."
In comparison, the lowest number of shootings Calgary has had for a full year over the past five years was 46. The most was 112.
A community-focused approach
The $5.2 million that the government announced will also help train more staff with crime prevention groups in rural Alberta.
Gerlitz said previous programs in schools had high success rates, and now a simple strategy is to improve messaging to immigrants.
"We take for granted that everyone is aware of Crime Stoppers and other programs, but that's just simply not the case. And there are some people who are new to the country who do not speak the language, and somebody knows something," he said.
"If they don't know there's an opportunity to report that or let the police know, how can we expect them to do that?"
Justice Minister Tyler Shandro said outreach work will be done to make sure small community organizations know about the grant and know how to apply.
Eligible groups, including charities, municipalities and First Nation or Métis settlements have until the end of September to apply.
Can more be done?
According to some, Wednesday's announcement will serve as a long-term solution, but it doesn't do enough to solve the immediate problem.
Kelly Sundberg, an associate professor at Mount Royal University, said preventing and eradicating firearm-related crimes will take more co-ordination and leadership from the police and different levels of government.
WATCH | Professor looks at number of shootings in Calgary, what's being done:
"This grant is a positive move forward. I think that it's great to see a grant — and looking at the terms of the grant, it is very much focused on crime prevention," said Sundberg.
"But it's not going to have an immediate impact."
He said that the federal government needs to direct more resources toward the Canada Border Services Agency to stop guns from coming across the border.
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With files from Tom Ross