by Shauna MacKinnon and Jim Silver

The inner city suddenly becomes important to politicians during elections.

Some choose to focus solely on crime and fear.  They choose to simplify the issues and leads the public to believe that all will be resolved if we simply put tougher penalties in place and put more people in jail.  These politician’s have learned that the politics of fear can be an effective way to win votes.

While some people ought to be imprisoned, putting ever more people in prison is not a solution.  In the long run what will work is preventing crime.  This of necessity means continuing the long, patient process of poverty reduction, and creating educational and employment opportunities for inner-city people.  That process has been underway over the past decade, and it is working.

CCPA Manitoba has conducted research in collaboration with community organizations in the inner city of Winnipeg for the past ten years.  We have learned a great deal about what is working and what more needs to be done.  Here is what we know.