Plan addressing Halifax violence expected next month after tragic 2016
Sending counsellors into communities is just one of the steps, says public safety officer
Halifax's public safety officer hopes to have an action plan early next month in response to the latest spike in violence in the city, including three recent fatal shootings.
In a presentation Monday to the municipality's board of police commissioners, Ted Upshaw said the plan will be a collaborative effort.
"We have to have commitment from everybody, and all hands have to be on deck," he said.
There have been 12 murders in the municipality in 2016, including shootings that claimed the lives of three men in their 20s last month.
Tackling long-term issues
Upshaw said there are long-term social issues that need to be dealt with such as discrimination, unemployment, poverty and housing.
He also told the police board that programs to prevent people from returning to prison, such as the Second Chance program, need to be reworked.
Upshaw said he has met with stakeholders as well as representatives from the province and the city. A followup meeting is planned for January with a small group to identify actions that can be taken right away to reduce violence.
One of those immediate steps involves sending counsellors out after a violent incident to help the community cope, he said.
"We could have an incident in a community, and there's people that may see something they've never seen before," said Upshaw. "And sometimes it only takes one event to actually cause harm to somebody."
Counsellors needed
The idea of sending counsellors into neighbourhoods has already been put forward by the black community. Seven of the homicide victims in the past year were black men.
However, some feel that in order for counsellors to be effective, they have to understand the needs of the community.
He said it's difficult for people to step up and offer counselling services when they cannot afford liability insurance.
"Government calls in counsellors when there is something happening at a school, or there's a tragedy, natural or otherwise," he said. "We'd like to be called in, too, to help in the African Nova Scotian community. But we need that help."
Sheppard said he believes the province should pay for the cost of liability insurance in order to allow more black counsellors to offer services.
He said there's a history of injustices and racism against the black community, which means its members are more likely to turn to each other for counselling.
"We understand one another more so than others can outside of our community. So it is necessary to have us relate to one another," he said.