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Endingviolentcrime

Ending Violent Crime (Video Recap)

Posted by Michael Janz on July 13, 2023

Here is the recap of our June 1st 2023 Event with Dr. Irvin Waller.

My simple message: We cannot afford not to make violence prevention a priority. We are already paying far more for the consequences.

As I said in my introduction, as taxpayers want to make every single dollar whether it is spent on health care, education, prisons, or policing is securing the best return on investment in terms of keeping people safe and ending violence. Much of this is a provincial responsibility, and we need them to step up far more. Collectively, if we do our jobs as civil society in preventing violent crime, we will make the job of police officers a lot safer, easier and reduce their workload.

According to the Edmonton Police Commission one new police officer to the system is ~$190,000. 100 new police officers as promised by Premier Smith is about $20 Million per year. The prison system is another enormous cost. Those are the public costs of reaction (policing and prisons) not prevention. The private costs bourne by individuals through trauma, let alone auto insurance, home insurance, business costs, Fire insurance, missed work time or lifetime due to the costs of violence are enormously staggering.

Please watch and share with interested neighbours.

The Science and Secrets of Ending Violent Crime with Dr. Irvin Waller

Event Background

An evening with Dr. Waller, author of The Science and secrets of ending violent crime

(Doors at 630PM, Talk at 7PM)

How can we improve community safety and health? Join us for a presentation and community Q&A with Dr. Irvin Waller in discussion with community partners in Edmonton including REACH Edmonton, the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues, Public Interest Alberta, the Parkland Institute and others. The format will include a presentation from Dr. Waller as well as responses from local leaders and a Q&A.

Respondents Include:

  • Dan Jones: Criminologist and the Chair of Justice Studies at NorQuest College who retired from the Edmonton Police Service after 25 years of service.
  • Penny Frazier - Editor, Zine and Heard and Youth in Care Chronicles
  • Jenn Parsonage - EFCL President
  • Dr. Richard Lewanczuk - Senior Medical Director, Health System Integration, Alberta Health Services.
  • Erick Ambtman - End Poverty Edmonton
  • Kim Beaudin, Vice-Chief Congress of Aboriginal Peoples

Location: Telus Centre Room 150, University of Alberta (111st and 87 avenue)

Event Photo

Read More: What Mayor’s must do to stop violent crime:
https://irvinwaller.org/crime-victims-rights/2022/08/29/3064/

Tough on Causes

The facts are clear that tackling causes and risk factors of violence before crime happens is the most effective and cost-effective way to reduce crime. Here are examples of targeted social programs that have been proven to be successful in stopping violent crime:

  • Outreach to young men through initiatives such as Cure Violence or Youth Inclusion Programs (YIP). This approach consists of street workers outreaching to young men to interrupt gang affiliation, mediate violent conflict, and mentor at-risk individuals.
  • Hospital-based violence intervention programs, which consist of social workers intervening with victims of violence in hospital emergency rooms to deal with trauma, prevent revenge shootings, and encourage young men to abandon gang-like lifestyle.
  • Programs in school curricula that focus on emotion regulation and problem-solving in order to help young men develop self-management skills and reduce impulsive responses causing violence. Programs like Life Skills Training, Becoming a Man and Stop Now and Plan have achieved up to 50% reductions in offending.
  • Offering support to families through programs such as Multisystemic Therapy. This approach requires therapists to work in homes, schools, and communities to provide parents with tools to transform the lives of troubled youth.

Robust and Sustained Planning

Cities such as Glasgow that have achieved and sustained significant reductions in violence and homicide rates respected seven key elements that have been agreed at the UN for nearly 20 years:

  1. Establishing a permanent violence and crime reduction board for the city
  2. Being informed by violence prevention science and data
  3. Having an integrated crime prevention plan
  4. Mobilizing sectors able to tackle causes
  5. Having adequate and sustained funding
  6. Developing standards and training for human talent
  7. Having public support and engagement