Go directly to jail…

June 6, 2022

Homeless Hub: John Howard Society of Ontario, Social Research and Demonstration Corporation, Canadian Observatory on Homelessness
No Fixed Address: The Intersections of Justice Involvement and Homelessness

This new report examines one of frequently neglected elements of prisons and jails: the growing number of No Fixed Address admissions.  The authors suggest that the number of people who are incarcerated from homelessness has been steadily increasing over the last decade.  “In 2007, approximately 1 in 16 people in provincial correctional institutions were living with homelessness at the time of admission. In 2021, this number had increased to approximately 1 in 6 people incarcerated in Ontario correctional facilities. This is a trend that is happening to many diverse people, across all regions of the province. Indigenous Peoples and Non-Indigenous Peoples living with homelessness are being incarcerated at higher rates compared to past years. It is happening in heavily urbanized areas as well as more rural areas of Ontario. It is a problem that is getting worse, not better, as time goes on.”   https://johnhoward.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/No-Fixed-Address-Final-Report.pdf

Globe and Mail – Editorial (June 6, 2022)
Why is it so much easier to become a cop in Canada than an electrician, plumber or welder?

The question posed by this editorial is worth pondering in the current context of so much controversy around policing, the defund the police perspective, and the on-going struggles around racism in policing.  The question is arising from the inquiry into RCMP in Nova Scotia where 22 people were killed.  Kimmo Himberg, a police veteran from Finland, retired from a decade as rector of Finland’s Police University College, outlined the minimum training for a police officer in Finland: three years at police University College vs high school graduation in Canada with a six month training.  https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-why-is-it-so-much-easier-to-become-a-cop-in-canada-than-an-electrician/  Related article: Halifax City News – Michael Tutton, Associated Press   N.S. mass shooting probe hears of higher police education standards in other systems – The public inquiry heard how police education in Finland far exceeds RCMP levels — as experts call for major reforms to RCMP training  https://halifax.citynews.ca/local-news/ns-mass-shooting-probe-hears-of-higher-police-education-standards-in-other-systems-5433554

Toronto Star – Wendy Gillis
Young. White. Male. And full of hate – In London and elsewhere, white supremacist violence keeps happening. Can we stop it?

Gillis is writing about London, Ontario, and the murder of four members of the Afzaal family with a pick-up truck by “Nathaniel Veltman, a 20-year-old who is the eldest son of six from small-town Strathroy, Ont., may have been using a “dark web” tool used by people seeking illegal or extremist content…. A growing list of convicted or accused killers have been steeped in an online ecosystem of hate that is transcending national borders, eluding law enforcement and inciting a brand of terrorism experts say is spreading and mutating.”  https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2022/06/05/young-white-male-and-full-of-hate.html Related article: Toronto Star – Jim Rankin   ‘You are dead because you were you’: How anti-Muslim hate has changed their London, Ont. A garden is regrowing, but not so colourfully. The streets feel more threatening. A mosque is missing a young girl’s artwork.  https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2022/06/04/you-are-dead-because-you-were-you-how-anti-muslim-hate-has-changed-their-london-ont.html?li_source=LI&li_medium=thestar_canada  Related article: Toronto Star – Heather Mallick  Why do mass murder victims matter less than others? Our justice system has forgotten about crime prevention, and the families of victims have been ignored too, Heather Mallick writes.   https://www.thestar.com/politics/political-opinion/2022/06/04/why-do-mass-murder-victims-matter-less-than-others.html?li_source=LI&li_medium=thestar_politics   Related article: CTV News: Sarah Turnbull – New gun legislation ‘doesn’t target law-abiding gun owners,’ safety minister says   https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/all-options-on-the-table-mendicino-says-on-whether-ottawa-would-enact-handgun-ban-1.5932115   Related article: CBC News – Chris Hall    When it comes to stopping gun violence, it’s all about the border, critics say – Stopping smuggling should be the focus, not a handgun freeze, critics say https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thehouse/government-firearm-restrictions-border-1.6477042  Related article: CTV News – Sarah Turnbull     Anger that I haven’t seen before’: Singh harassment incident puts renewed spotlight on politicians’ security  https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/anger-that-i-haven-t-seen-before-singh-harassment-incident-puts-renewed-spotlight-on-politicians-security-1.5900833

 The Washington Post (US) –  Ariana Eunjung Cha, Meghan Hoyer, and Tim Meko
 Young men, guns and the prefrontal cortex – The Uvalde, Tex., shooter is part of a long list of male perpetrators of similar ages. Some experts think gun laws need to change to address that.

The killing of 19 school children in Uvalde has sparked further search for understanding of the causes of these horrible incidents, especially as young men are almost always the perpetrators.  Vanderbilt University psychiatrist Jonathan Metzl:  “There’s a lot of research about how their brains are not fully developed in terms of regulation,” he said. Perhaps most significantly, studies show, the prefrontal cortex, which is critical to understanding the consequences of one’s actions and controlling impulses, does not fully develop until about age 25. In that context, Metzl said, a shooting “certainly feels like another kind of performance of young masculinity.”   The authors include an age / gender analysis of the perpetrators for 196 killings of four or more people since 1966.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/06/03/why-so-many-mass-shooters-young-angry-men/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWJpZCI6IjM2NTE1ODkyIiwicmVhc29uIjoiZ2lmdCIsIm5iZiI6MTY1NDM1MDY3NiwiaXNzIjoic3Vic2NyaXB0aW9ucyIsImV4cCI6MTY1NTU2MDI3NiwiaWF0IjoxNjU0MzUwNjc2LCJqdGkiOiI0ZmUwYTMxMi01YzA2LTRjNDMtOWQ5ZC0zYmE3NjVmODgxYmYiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy53YXNoaW5ndG9ucG9zdC5jb20vaGVhbHRoLzIwMjIvMDYvMDMvd2h5LXNvLW1hbnktbWFzcy1zaG9vdGVycy15b3VuZy1hbmdyeS1tZW4vIn0.XgpGDmciIrLP1RWxT7pTae8lTw6_r59nr-kFydwAaTg   Related article; The Atlantic (US) – David French  Time Has Proved the Slow-Riot Theory of Mass Shootings – We don’t actually know how to solve the crisis.   https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/the-third-rail/629a49b29503360021895e95/gun-control-debate-uvalde-school-shooting/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_content=edit-promo&utm_term=2022-06-03T18%3A47%3A23&s=03

Hill Times – Chelsea Nash
Indigenous advocates won’t turn down visit by UN special rapporteur, but are focused on need for criminal prosecution for residential school abuses

UN Special rapporteur Francisco Calí Tzay is coming to Canada to examine the circumstances around the rights of Indigenous people, particularly in the light of the grave sites discovered to date at residential schools.  Spokespersons for the Indigenous people say that while the visit and report will add layers to the documentation it is not likely to initiate anything significant.  “Indigenous advocates interviewed for this story say they will welcome the visit, but also stressed that they’re tired of seeing reports and the recommendations they contain collect dust on the government’s shelves.”   https://www.hilltimes.com/2022/06/05/indigenous-advocates-wont-turn-down-visit-by-un-special-rapporteur-but-are-focused-on-need-for-criminal-prosecution-for-residential-school-abuses/365441?utm_source=Morning+Brief&utm_campaign=1b9309dc3d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_12_02_COPY_1362&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a43c5d924a-1b9309dc3d-206962393