The results from a survey being used to help make St. John’s a safer place to live are troubling.
Almost 700 people were asked if they had been a victim of violent crime, and if they reported it to police. And if not, why not?
Sixty-six per cent felt it wouldn’t make a difference, while 57 per cent said they lacked confidence in the justice system.
Fifty-five per cent cited a similar lack of confidence in the police.
Councillors were briefed on the results during a committee of the whole meeting yesterday.
Deputy Mayor Sheilagh O’Leary says that lack of faith only creates more problems.
“The fact that people feel like it’s not worthwhile to report to a higher authority or the RNC is very disappointing in lots of way, but it’s good for us to have that information and understand that people (feel that way),” she said. “So to me, that points not necessarily to the RNC but to the justice system.”
Mayor Danny Breen says there’s certainly the perception that communities are less safe, and you only have to look around your neighbourhood to see it.
“You see a lot more alarm systems, you see a lot more video, you see people saying they organize their walks in the evening differently so that they’re in a group walking as opposed to individually.”
The survey was part of a larger What We Heard document that will go before a public meeting of council next week.
The work was directed and funded through Ottawa’s Building Safer Communities strategy, which aims to address underlying conditions that give rise to crime and violence, particularly for young people.