Belleville joins program to stem gun violence

By Ashliegh Gehl

BELLEVILLE, On. (05/19/11) Police Chief Corey McMullan announced Thursday that Belleville's police service will be receiving funding from the Provincial Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy program to curb gun-related violence. Photo by Ashliegh Gehl.

Gun violence is on the rise says, Belleville Police Chief Corey McMullan.

An increase in gun violence prompted McMullan to submit a funding proposal to Ontario’s Provincial Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy.

“We’ve been doing a review of what’s been happening in Belleville,” said McMullan. “The year 2010 revealed an increase in homicides where firearms were used in the commission of an offence.”

McMullan says the rate of weapons seized has steadily increased since 2005.

“Our service showed 11 weapons seizures in 2009, and that number rose to 24 weapon seizures in 2010,” said McMullan. “This illustrates clearly that our officers are coming across weapons and making related seizures at a growing rate. And this common across the province.”

In order to qualify for PAVIS funding police services have to demonstrate gun and gang violence is increasing in the community.

The Belleville Police Service was awarded a $195,000 PAVIS grant to be received over the next two years. Belleville is also one of five additional police services receiving PAVIS funding.

McMullan plans to use the funds by putting more officers on the frontline, strengthening enforcement initiatives.

Measuring the success of PAVIS is also part of the program.

“The criteria, as far as how successful we are with the funding, is enforcement statistics as well as education. Our community partners will be doing some evaluations. It’ll be an ongoing process.”

Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, Jim Bradley, recognized the need to extend the PAVIS program to communities outside Ontario’s largest cities.

“We’re doing that because criminals and gangs don’t their illegal activities because they move into another police jurisdiction,” said Bradley.  “To be successful, police need to be as flexible and have the resources to fight gangs as they try to spread their criminal activities right across the province.”

The PAVIS program is in response to the spread of gang and gun violence in Ontario.

“Our government responded with the PAVIS because there are no safe havens for gangs in Ontario, not in Belleville, and not anywhere,” said Bradley.

The province has invested $31-million in enforcement and crime prevention measures.

Due to reported successes, the PAVIS program was given a two-year extension.

“I’m confident that we will see ongoing funding in this program, but as with all programs in governments, in this particular case there’s a 2-year extension of the program, I’m confident will see more of it,” said Bradley.

PAVIS is modeled after the Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy. It was first launched in 2007 in 15 Ontario communities.  Over the next two years Ontario is investing $15 million to fund police initiatives against gangs and guns.

The McGuinty government has helped reduce the overall crime rate in Ontario by 17 per cent since 2003 and established a first-of-its-kind, $51 million Guns and Gangs Strategy, said Bradley.