Does anyone know the hard facts on how bad crime in Toronto is? If we look at it as a percent of the total [increasing] Toronto population have crime rates increased dramatically in the last 10 years or is the media making it a bigger deal than it actually is.

I'm not a fan of the Guardian Angles at all (in part since everything about them is so American). Let the cops do what they're hired to do!

i'm also very skeptical about reports of increased crime. I think the media is doing a much better job at covering crime for shock and circulation value. also i think society has finally encouraged more crime victims to report crimes than before.

Re: Guardian Angels

What are Guardian Angels trained or not trained to do? How does one qualify to be a Guardian Angel? How do you correctly identify a Guardian Angel?

All these unanswered questions makes me feel very uneasy inside. What if I decide to wear a red beret and with a red collegiate jacket tomorrow? Would I be charged as being an impostor? I fear that people will actually begin to bestow trust in these individuals-- especially children-- and have something unfathomable happen.

I also fear the safety of the Guardian Angels themselves. Battling crime is not something to take lightly, and I have the deepest respect for those who are in the police force. Do Guardian Angels have backup mechanisms in place if something goes wrong? The last thing we want is to have these individuals feel that they are capable of actively dealing with crime and end in tragedy.

Another concern is Who exactly are they accountable to? How exactly could they be trusted?

Police officers are given a mandate to serve under the Police Services Act-- alongside, they must be compliant with its rules and procedures. They report directly to the Chief of Police, and there are direct consequences for any "wrongful" activity committed them.

But is that the case for Guardian Angels? They have the mandate to use "reasonable force [..] to prevent a dangerous situation from escalating" they have no special legislative authority or protections different from other civilians.

Lastly, I fear for a compromised police force. What kind of message are we sending to other Torontonians? That we can't rely on own police?

I do encourage everyone in the community to do their part in battling crime in the community-- whether it is being vigilant of suspicious activity, and being alert of your surroundings. However, we must continue to have faith in our police service, and let them continue to carry their mandate-- without these supposed intermediaries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardian_Angels
http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/professionalstandards/mandate.php

Re: Crime reporting

I really don't know what to say about this. I do feel the need to for the media-reporting of crime. But when do we say that it is justified, and when can we draw the line that media has "sensationalised" the events?

It's a tough call.

I have no sources ot back up what I'm saying but I think crime has generally seen a steady decline, but violence has seen a slight incline. I vaguely recall earlier reports in The Star.

Vigilantes have no place in the city plain and simple.

How exactly did they plan on stopping violent crime? If I'm doing gang business and some guardian angels show up, I'd just mow them down with my machine guns. Is that what they want?

Of course there's always the issue of how to make them accountable for their actions and how to keep them from abusing their power and becoming bullies?

This is just another example of how people don't think things through. The best way for them to help is to assist the police by reporting anything suspicious. If they feel that the police are incompetent, then complain to city hall, not form a vigilante!

they have stuff like that in other places around the world. it's called Triads. maybe the guardian angels mean well.
But what is the check and balance to make sure that no one will abuse the power and trust and turn GA into something like a Triad, taking matter of law into their own hands. Perhaps I should do more research into GA before I criticize the idea. But for everyone’s sake I think they should have some sort of liability clause written into some sort of Code of Conducts…

I've always thought The Guardian Angels were essentially a super neighbourhood watch. More eyes on the streets is probably not a bad thing; its not like they have any right to actually police. How often do you see beat cops walking around a neighbourhood? Even really rough parts of town don't seem to have any cops patrolling them. I think the Gaurdian Angels would work well to stop crimes like prostitution, muggings and low-level drug-dealing -- stuff people aren't inclined to do with a proactive audience.

What ever happened to Neighbourhood Watch's anyways? I remember these organizations were quite prevalent in Toronto in the late 80's, but you hardly hear about them now.

Anyways, I feel that Neighbourhood Watch (NW) is different from Guardian Angels (GA), beacuse NW takes a more passive approach to crime-- they do more "watching" and less "patrolling."

I agree while I am confident that most GA's have good intentions, I feel that their passionate drive can be better put to use in other means-- such as what some Voices respondents suggested: participating in Big Brother organizations, helping at risk youth and homeless shelters.

In other words, us citizens should instead take a more proactive approach to prevent people from becoming at-risk rather than directly dealing with crime.