Last week, we discussed – some say ridiculed – the New Zealand police for begging criminals to comply with the law. We thought this was a one-time aberration from the New Zealand’s Commissioner of Police and he would get back to doing his job – arresting criminals and putting them behind bars.
We were wrong.
New Zealand’s decision to pander to criminals instead of arresting them gained traction around the world.
In Sweden, rival drug gangs clash violently as they battle over turf – much the same as they do in every major city in North America.
And what is the crime-fighting tactic of choice for Sweden’s Malmö Chief of Police Stefan Sentéus?[i]
He invited gang leaders for a “friendly chat” to discuss how their life choices were negatively impacting their chances of staying alive. He even bought pizza as an incentive to get them to show up for the November 12th meeting.
It seems to have worked. “Operation Snowflake” saw 9 of 12 gang leaders show up for the free meal – but none of these violent criminals were arrested. Not one.
“Most of the gang members are unemployed young men under 30 years of age, with immigrant backgrounds, living in deprived neighbourhoods, who have failed to fully integrate into the Swedish way of life.[ii]
“So rather than admit the failure of its immigration and integration policies and the negative impact on their globally-celebrated humanitarian credentials, the Swedes try to spin it with yet another ill-conceived liberal approach of embracing criminals, in the hope that they’ll start feeling all warm and fuzzy and stop killing one another along with innocent bystanders.”
Neighbouring Denmark, in response to the escalating violence in Sweden, re-instated border controls in an effort to keep the gang violence out of their country.
Here in Canada, while we didn’t offer to buy Toronto’s gang leaders pizza and a Coke, Mayor John Tory did take a giant leap into the Land of Stupidity nonetheless.
Mayor Tory proclaimed November 13th as “Toronto Kind Day” because kindness, not free pizza or begging by police chiefs, is the best way to end gang violence fuelled by the illicit drug trade.[iii]
“Happy to proclaim today as #TorontoKind Day in the @CityofToronto as a reminder for us all to be kind to one another. Toronto is known around the world for our way of life here, something we can protect and celebrate through acts of kindness and compassion. #WorldKindnessDay”
Now, in case those who hate us and the way of life we fight to protect 365 days a year dare misunderstand, we fully support being kind to one another. We don’t need fancy proclamations from disingenuous mayors to do it, either.
The only way we will ever end the gang violence plaguing Toronto or Malmö or Christchurch is by holding violent criminals responsible for their actions.
Only when we make the cost of their violent “life choices” too high will they change their behaviour. That means arresting them, taking away their illegal guns and removing them from society for as long as we can.
Begging by police chiefs will not stop these violent gang members from shooting up our cities.
No amount of free pizza will either.
And John Tory’s “Toronto Kind Day” proclamation?
That’s just the latest in a long line of asinine ideas to come out of Toronto City Hall.
It won’t stop a single shooting. It won’t take a single gun out of the hands of a single gang member.
But it does send the all-important virtue signal that Toronto is a “kind” city… so long as residents and visitors alike do as John Tory does – ignore violent criminals they refuse to lift a finger to stop – and blame federally-licensed and RCMP-vetted gun owners instead.
Sources:
[i] https://summit.news/2019/11/14/swedish-police-respond-to-shocking-rising-crime-levels-by-inviting-gang-leaders-for-pizza/
[ii] https://www.rt.com/op-ed/473446-sweden-police-gangs-pizza/
[iii] https://twitter.com/JohnTory/status/1194632687895449601
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