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Gang activity on the rise

City police say gang activity has increased in the past year with outside organizations from Ottawa and Toronto coming to Thunder Bay.
Lee-Ann
Crime Prevention Council coordinator Lee-Ann Chevrette believes gangs are moving north to a number of communities.

THUNDER BAY -- Fueled by the drug trade, gang activity in Thunder Bay and the surrounding area has increased in the past year and has started attracting more outside criminal organizations into the city.

Crime Prevention Council coordinator Lee-Ann Chevrette on Tuesday said gangs have started moving north to a number of communities that have higher rates of problematic substance use and addiction issues.

“This is a business for these gangs and they are in it for the profit and that’s the only reason,” Chevrette said.

“There’s profit because there are people in our community who are vulnerable, so these gangs are bringing drugs and weapons to our community and they are preying upon people they know are vulnerable.”

Thunder Bay is an ideal target.

Gang leaders know Thunder Bay has a high level of addiction so they come to town and prey upon struggling individuals.

Recently, gangs have been successfully recruiting in local neighbourhoods where higher concentrations of at-risk and vulnerable youth are present.

“The gangs are unscrupulous, they come in, they know what they are doing and they target those who are vulnerable,” Chevrette said.

“Youth want to belong, they want to feel a part of something and they are keen in finding some way to fit in.”

Gangs have a good eye when it comes to identifying youth who are living in poverty, disenfranchised, who feel like they don’t belong and who are struggling with problematic substance issues.

Chevrette said there are a number of crime prevention members who are currently involved in a gang prevention and intervention program in the city.

Workers from different organizations are going into these neighbourhoods and training youth to keep themselves safe.

For example,they teach them to identify when gang members are approaching them, know the risk factors and make them aware and knowledgeable situtations that put them at risk.

The goal is to introduce services that support youth, increase protective factors and reduce their vulnerability.

“It’s about (being) inclusive, it’s about engagement and it’s about developing relationships,” Chevrette said.

“We need to create neighbourhoods and spaces where people feel they are welcome, respected and where they are not feeling judged.”

Thunder Bay Police and organizations across the city are working hard and investing a lot of resources to address the problem.

Thunder Bay Police Chief J.P. Levesque said there’s been an influx of gang members from the Ottawa and Toronto area over the past year -- and they don't always get along.

“This is one of our many concerns with these individuals … They tend to be a fairly violent crew and they are here in Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario,” Levesque said.

“It’s a very lucrative area for illicit drugs because the price is much higher than it is on the streets in Ottawa and Toronto, so they make their money quite a bit faster.”

Levesque added that they’ve seen a change in the environment, but what happens when you shut down an organization like the Hells Angels the community is left vulnerable to other criminal enterprises, who quickly move into the unspoken for new territory.

While it might seem the gangs have free reign, they're not going undetected and city police are working closely with the intelligence units in both Ottawa and Toronto to try and keep track.

“It’s very resource-intensive and it’s certainly something we are working diligently to try and stay on top of,” Levesque said.

“The big thing is to let these individuals know they are not welcome here and they will definitely be on our radar.”



Nicole Dixon

About the Author: Nicole Dixon

Born and raised in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Nicole moved to Thunder Bay, Ontario in 2008 to pursue a career in journalism. Nicole joined Tbnewswatch.com in 2015 as a multimedia producer, content developer and reporter.
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