Plans for additional legislation to take on organized crime and the launch of a multimedia advertising campaign encouraging youth to stay out of gangs were announced by Attorney General Andrew Swan.
“Gang activity can have a serious impact on individuals, families and communities,” said Swan. “Addressing organized crime defies simple solutions and requires action at every level through suppression, intervention and prevention.”
Anti-gang legislation being drafted now will:
• Make the use of gang armoured vehicles, now being seen in other provinces, illegal here.
• Through amendments to the Civil Remedies Against Organized Crime Act, allow the provincial government to apply to the courts to revoke or not issue licences to businesses serving as fronts for gangs.
• Create a statutory list of criminal organizations that can be used under provincial legislation to eliminate the need to repeatedly prove in court that particular gangs are criminal organizations. Manitoba has previously urged the federal government to make similar amendments to the Criminal Code.
The multi-media advertising targets youth at risk of becoming involved in gang life and includes a plain-speaking television commercial, website, posters and interior transit ads.
“Young people in the process of leaving gangs and at-risk kids who chose not to be involved told us what made a difference to them,” said Swan. “Their expertise and their words formed the foundation of this campaign. Youth can be lured by a false sense of the lifestyle, a need to belong, money and drugs. They don’t always think about the damage they’re doing to themselves and the people they love, nor how they’re being used.”
The website at www.stayoutofgangs.ca exposes the realities of gang life and links youth with real information about the potential impacts on their lives and alternatives they can choose. The advertisements will raise public awareness, which is critical to changing behaviour, Swan said.
The legislation is being drafted now and the advertisements build on a wide range of programs and services already in place as part of Manitoba’s anti-gang strategy. It includes a combination of direct initiatives and complementary efforts and partnerships with law enforcement agencies and community organizations.
