Re: On gang violence, we can’t arrest our way out of mess, Jan. 5.
Thanks to columnist Kelly Egan for at least questioning Ottawa’s response to gang violence. The answers are not more police, more committees or the current “gang prevention strategy.”
Read the research on the Spergel Comprehensive Gang Model (later renamed the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model) developed by Irving Spergel (2007) and its 10-year success in Chicago and Boston.
Offering gang members real job training, leading to real jobs with real money, works. Sitting in groups reflecting on gender constructions and the roots of aggression does not work. Youth need concrete options, not more punishers and pacifiers.
Maureen Cech, Ottawa
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