Auto theft has become a major public safety issue and should no longer be treated as a simple property crime, says Insp. Rob Davis of Six Nations Police.
"As recently as two weeks ago, Woodstock Police Service had a pursuit with a person from Six Nations who drove at an officer and just narrowly missed him -- and that person had now been charged with attempted murder," Davis said during a roundtable on crime and justice at the Brantford police station Wednesday. "We've seen several cases like this, where someone in a stolen vehicle drives at an officer when the officer is attempting to stop them by using a spike belt.
"It's endangering the officer's safety but also leading up to that the pursuits are at ridiculously high speeds and quite often in very concentrated population."
Even when police stop their pursuits, there is still a public safety issue because the suspects continue to drive the stolen vehicles in an erratic manner, he added.
When police make their submissions in court in cases involving stolen vehicles in pursuits, he said, they're asking the courts to look at the danger to the public, the totality of the crime, and treat it as a public safety issue rather than a simple property crime involving a theft.
Auto theft in Brantford, Brant County and Six Nations has been a huge issue in recent years. The area was found to be in the top spot for auto thefts in Canada back in 2009 taking the title from Winnipeg.
At the time, the five-year average for auto thefts was 770 thefts a year.
"Even before those numbers came out publicly we were aware of the problem and taking steps to address it," Davis said. "We've got a multi-jurisdictional approach going on right now and we're working with our policing partners in Brantford, Brant County, Hamilton, Niagara and Waterloo."
The roundtable, organized by Brant MP Phil McColeman, was held in the community room at the Brantford Police Service building.
Representatives from various agencies in the community participated in the discussion, covering a variety of topics including human smuggling, victims' rights and the need for tougher penalties for those who injure or kill people when driving while impaired.
Penny McVicar, the executive director of Victims' Services of Brant, told participants that many families, especially those that have lost a loved one to a drunk driver, don't believe the justice system adequately addresses the sense of loss and devastation caused by the crime. That's especially true of younger perpetrators who are covered by the Youth Justice Act, she said.
A local effort is underway to have young people charged with the impaired driving causing death sentenced as adults, she added.
Brantford Mayor Chris Friel also said the justice system needs to take a more "realistic approach" to what's happening in a community and look to increase the penalties for drinking and driving related convictions when the perpetrator has caused injury or death.
The group also heard from representatives of Canada Fights Human Trafficking, a not-for-profit umbrella organization that brings together volunteers, philanthropists and non-governmental organizations from across the country.
A recent impact study commissioned by Canada's Solicitor General estimated the impact of human trafficking at between $120 million and $400 million a year and accounts for between 8,000 and 16,000 people illegally arriving in Canada annually.
Following the two-hour session, McColeman said the problem of human trafficking is a difficult one to tackle because Canada has always been generous with respect to immigration and allowing people into the country.
The difficulty, he said, is to find a balance that reflects our compassion and our generosity without allowing ourselves to be taken advantage of by some of the worst criminals on the planet.
McColeman was joined at the session by Dave MacKenzie, the MP for Oxford and the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews.
Other participants included Brant County Mayor Ron Eddy, Brantford Acting Police Chief Jeff Kellner, and Naomi Baker, of Canada Fights Human Trafficking.
"We are committed to making our streets and communities safer," MacKenzie said in a statement released following the discussion. "Since form government, we have put more police officers on the street, increased security at the border and introduced legislation to give prosecutors and police the tools they need to keep dangerous criminals off the street.
Many of the participants work pink shirts in support of a world-wide anti-bullying campaign organized locally by the Boys and Girls Club of Brantford and the Brantford Galaxy Soccer Club.
McColeman held the roundtable discussion on crime and justice issues was a way of getting a better understanding of what's happening in the community and ways of addressing a variety of issues. He held a similar event just over two weeks ago to discuss economic issues.