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VIDEO: Chief Blair calls recent shootings "tragic" and "concerning"

Posted By: Justine Lewkowicz · 2/20/2013 5:20:00 AM

Police chief Bill Blair says the recent shooting deaths of three 15-year-old boys are "tragic," and he is "very concerned" about the violence.

Blair reacted to the shootings after a board meeting Tuesday.

"Any time a young person, any young person, in any of our communities, loses their life to violence, it's an individual tragedy but also a tragedy for those communities," Blair says.

He says the shootings remind the city of the urgency of the work done in communities to provide youth with better opportunities.

Blair says there is no single answer to stopping youth violence. But he repeated one message he has for people who witness crimes or activity that could lead to violence.

"If we have, any of us have information about an individual that is at risk or is putting others at risk, then we have to have the courage to step forward," he says.

Blair says there is still work to do be done by the justice system to help make witnesses feel safe enough to come forward.

When asked whether he thinks action has been too slow to reduce youth violence, considering the topic has come up many times, Blair said police have been working hard on the issue for many years.

He listed statistics that show crime has gone down, including the number of shootings, which is down this year more than 50 per cent from a year ago.

At the same time, Blair says, "You can't reassure a community simply through statistical reductions in crime. I think we have been effective, but the job is not yet done."

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  1. ctwr9-11 posted on 02/20/2013 09:16 AM
    So tired of the same old lip service from Toronto Police Chief Blair, always too little, too late until the NEXT poor black kid is needlessly murdered. We need some long overdue leadership from our police, our politicians, teachers, city workers & all levels of gov't. Because this problem goes far beyond Toronto. Mayor Ford has been doing something positive with his volunteer coaching of mostly black, disadvantaged kids in football, but we could use a whole lot more men to serve our youth as role models to make a noticeable difference. We need less talk and a lot more action! Perhaps the mayor could implement a mentorship program immediately to add to his own initiative in that area for the past decade. More men in the black community must step up to help serve their own youth, and help those gallant few leaders that already do. Aside from offering specfic projects to deal directly with bullying in schools to help young kids everywhere, there are many other things we can do to thwart these violent 'gang wars' who are terrorizing the GTA. How about asking our Fed. Immigration people to revamp policy & vetting those we let into the country since most of the criminals slipping thru, end up in the GTA. . Then let's prosecute and/or deport the illegal trouble makers immediately. Our borders guards need to be scrutinized, then heavily armed & trained to properly screen all vehicles for drugs, weapons, firearms & other contraband that feed the violence and hurt law abiding citizens. We do this thoroughly at airports but are far too lax at all road borders! We need to fix the non functioning cameras in the priority GTA neighbourhoods to gather evidence of suspicious behaviour & outright criminal activity. And let's have more police outreach & patrols to protect the dangerous communities, to deter these gangs, catch the shooters, to rebuild trust with the law abiding citizens who are so afraid to interact & report crime. Prevention is a lot easier and less costly in terms of dollars and LIVES than fixing this problem through the courts, health care & penal system, dealing with all the fallout. These are practical things that should have been inititated decades ago, so stop the BS and procrastination or let's find the right people who WILL do the right things. Haven' we wasted far too much time, money and lives already??
    1. just the facts ma'am, just the facts posted on 02/20/2013 03:55 PM
      @ctwr9-11 "We need some long overdue leadership from our police, our politicians, teachers, city workers & all levels of gov't. " -- Gee, what about that HUGE male role model - a FATHER. maybe we need to start there.
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