Guardian Angels will patrol Toronto streets

JAN13,2006- 7:34PM
CTV.ca News Staff
Word of Toronto's rising gun violence problem is catching
the attention of New York's Guardian Angels who are
returning to the city for a third time, despite concerns
from the mayor.
Members of the group arrived in the city Friday afternoon.
They plan to meet with Toronto police before beginning
patrols in the city's downtown core.
"I think there's a realization now, not just from the people,
but also from elected officials and the police, that they
truly do have an American style problem now,"
Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa said.
Over the weekend the group will go to Regent Park,
Parkdale and the Jane and Finch area. Guardian Angels
will also patrol Toronto subways.
Mayor David Miller does not like the idea of Guardian
Angels on the streets. Earlier this week, Miller told
reporters that he "believes in policing being done by
police."
Guardian Angels history
The Guardian Angels are a voluntary street patrol
organization that started in 1979.
Sliwa was unhappy with the descent into crime he saw
happening in the Bronx area of New York. He gathered
13 people who began patrolling subways and
neighbourhoods, wearing their emblematic red berets.
Since the group's inception it has expanded to seven
countries. Members are trained to make citizen's arrests
if they witness a crime.
On previous visits to Toronto, the Guardian Angels have
been met with controversy. In 1984 police and city officials
labeled them vigilantes. Then in 1992, Parkdale residents
told the group they were not welcome.
Sliwa believes this visit to Toronto will be different.
"It's obvious by their outreach to Rev. Rivers in Boston
that they are interested in at least discovering how America
has tried to put a cap on the violence and also do gang
intervention and that's what we've specialized in."
The Guardian Angels are being brought to the city by a
former police officer.
The groups expects to have a Toronto branch established
within four months.
YEAH FOR TORONTO!!!!
SMART DECISION!!!
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