Timmins Ontario is not safe. Too many homeless addicts and untreated mentall ill.
There are a lot of native reserves in northen Ontario. Life is terrible on the Reserves, so the young move to the small cities. To pay for their drug habits, they break into homes, garages and cars.
In a very small city, it is hard to avoid being a victum. No "good areas" to hide in.
Five hundred citizens showed up at a hockey arena to complain about the city's homeless shelter and safe injection site. They want the shelter to be moved out of the residental area.
The robbery map tells a story of its own, but as is too often the case - it's not the whole story.
Imagine if SFPD or the DA's office were classifying all of these robberies to reflect who is committing them. Here's what would be eye opening - a color coding of the dots - it may require many more dots to do this - committed by;
1. Men.
2. Women
3. Under 18
4. Suspected or known drug addict
5. Out of towners = commuter criminal
6. Drug dealer
7. Break-in to Car
8. Break-in to Home
9. Break-in to Business
10. Shop Lifting
11. Use of a weapon
12. Caused injury
13. Caused death
When I write commentary seen nationally, I always do my best to support San Francisco, and debunk the nonsense claims that it is a living Hell which many non-Californians seem to take some perverted pleasure in. But I can't defend the elected officials who created and/or contributed to the core issues
of drug use, drug related crime, and drug related homelessness. The other thing that cannot be defended is the State Legislature's failure to either clarify its intent of old laws, or if need be write new laws to replace the old that enshrine quality of life as a value worth protecting in all neighborhoods.
Cities should have a right to set up refugee camps if they choose to, but only if they have locations for them which do not negatively impact the general population. The idea of putting drug use sites, and/or homeless shelters in residential areas is just counter to common sense.
The exception ought to be pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals where professional from DPH could be stationed to address the needs of walk-in patients. What has to stop is enabling all anti-social behaviors.
You made lots of good point, and I've shared many of your safe/not safe experiences growing up in San Francisco. For most people character building starts at home, goes to school, and to church in the old days. Now a very high percentage of children are being raised by a single parent, or parents with poor character issues of their own, and schools are not consistently helping. Add to that the many street gangs that SFPD and Mayor and BOS speak about almost never, and it rounds out the problem.
A retired SFPD officer from the Bayview told me the gangs exist because there are no other competitive opportunities. If true, then maybe the solution is to make them a SFPD division with a mission of public safety and assistance with pay and benefits that is high enough to make it worth them dropping the drug trade? It may sound crazy. I can't say it will work. But I know what's not working now.
For decades I've been telling anyone who would listen; safety is an illusion. Safety is a feeling we have
when we feel secure and think or convince ourselves there are no predators near us. In reality, before COVID masked everyone up, people already wore masks of a different kind. They could smile, and get close to you, and then spring on you, or pull a weapon. Lately - people can be in a crowd, and someone fires multiple shots, and by standers get hurt or killed. Everywhere is safe until its not!
And carrying defensive weapons/tools is generally not what most of us want to do. If you do that, you can't take them into government buildings etc.,
Surprisingly - no one has yet started a weapons checking service for government buildings or airports.
As you know, I’m new to the city. You sum it up so well. There’s still beauty and vibrancy AND keep your head on a swivel. Let’s not just say that’s life in the big city. Let’s make it more safe and vibrant so we can have more ENJOYMENT of the beauty. In the fight to save the city with you!
Timmins Ontario is not safe. Too many homeless addicts and untreated mentall ill.
There are a lot of native reserves in northen Ontario. Life is terrible on the Reserves, so the young move to the small cities. To pay for their drug habits, they break into homes, garages and cars.
In a very small city, it is hard to avoid being a victum. No "good areas" to hide in.
Five hundred citizens showed up at a hockey arena to complain about the city's homeless shelter and safe injection site. They want the shelter to be moved out of the residental area.
You can read about it here: https://bit.ly/3CD8RQZ
Erica -
The robbery map tells a story of its own, but as is too often the case - it's not the whole story.
Imagine if SFPD or the DA's office were classifying all of these robberies to reflect who is committing them. Here's what would be eye opening - a color coding of the dots - it may require many more dots to do this - committed by;
1. Men.
2. Women
3. Under 18
4. Suspected or known drug addict
5. Out of towners = commuter criminal
6. Drug dealer
7. Break-in to Car
8. Break-in to Home
9. Break-in to Business
10. Shop Lifting
11. Use of a weapon
12. Caused injury
13. Caused death
When I write commentary seen nationally, I always do my best to support San Francisco, and debunk the nonsense claims that it is a living Hell which many non-Californians seem to take some perverted pleasure in. But I can't defend the elected officials who created and/or contributed to the core issues
of drug use, drug related crime, and drug related homelessness. The other thing that cannot be defended is the State Legislature's failure to either clarify its intent of old laws, or if need be write new laws to replace the old that enshrine quality of life as a value worth protecting in all neighborhoods.
Cities should have a right to set up refugee camps if they choose to, but only if they have locations for them which do not negatively impact the general population. The idea of putting drug use sites, and/or homeless shelters in residential areas is just counter to common sense.
The exception ought to be pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals where professional from DPH could be stationed to address the needs of walk-in patients. What has to stop is enabling all anti-social behaviors.
You made lots of good point, and I've shared many of your safe/not safe experiences growing up in San Francisco. For most people character building starts at home, goes to school, and to church in the old days. Now a very high percentage of children are being raised by a single parent, or parents with poor character issues of their own, and schools are not consistently helping. Add to that the many street gangs that SFPD and Mayor and BOS speak about almost never, and it rounds out the problem.
A retired SFPD officer from the Bayview told me the gangs exist because there are no other competitive opportunities. If true, then maybe the solution is to make them a SFPD division with a mission of public safety and assistance with pay and benefits that is high enough to make it worth them dropping the drug trade? It may sound crazy. I can't say it will work. But I know what's not working now.
For decades I've been telling anyone who would listen; safety is an illusion. Safety is a feeling we have
when we feel secure and think or convince ourselves there are no predators near us. In reality, before COVID masked everyone up, people already wore masks of a different kind. They could smile, and get close to you, and then spring on you, or pull a weapon. Lately - people can be in a crowd, and someone fires multiple shots, and by standers get hurt or killed. Everywhere is safe until its not!
And carrying defensive weapons/tools is generally not what most of us want to do. If you do that, you can't take them into government buildings etc.,
Surprisingly - no one has yet started a weapons checking service for government buildings or airports.
Like a coat check.
As you know, I’m new to the city. You sum it up so well. There’s still beauty and vibrancy AND keep your head on a swivel. Let’s not just say that’s life in the big city. Let’s make it more safe and vibrant so we can have more ENJOYMENT of the beauty. In the fight to save the city with you!