Province, Partners to Discuss Gun Violence in Halifax

Government, community leaders and police are working together to find new and innovative ways to reduce gun violence in Halifax Regional Municipality.

CeaseFire Chicago, a group that has drastically decreased gun violence in Chicago and other cities, will present their approach as part of a three-day workshop. The group's approach is an innovative violence interruption program that uses a public health model to stop shootings and killings.

"Government is committed to keeping families and communities safe through a variety of crime prevention efforts," said Justice Minister Ross Landry. "We need to find new ways of looking at crime and addressing the factors that cause people to get involved in gun violence. One way to do this is by learning from the successes of others."

On May 15, CeaseFire Chicago will lead a two-hour overview workshop for police and justice partners. An in-depth workshop will take place May 16-18. Seventy community leaders, organizations, youth, faith leaders, and justice partners are expected to attend.

Participants will have a chance to discuss potential solutions to address the problem during the workshop.

"It is our hope that together we can find ways to be proactive in addressing issues of violence to keep communities and families safe. We owe it to our youth," said Yvonne Atwell, executive director, Community Justice Society.

"Gun violence is very real in our community. While the crime rate has been trending downward for eight years, we're seeing an increase in the level of violence as well as criminals' propensity to use firearms," said Deputy Chief Bill Moore, Halifax Regional Police. "We're encouraged by the number of people taking part in the knowledge exchange and look forward to exploring a community-led response to gun violence, which would complement our multi-faceted approach to preventing and addressing crime in HRM."

The knowledge exchange workshop on gun violence supports government's crime prevention efforts. The Department of Justice invests more than $20 million annually in initiatives that support crime prevention and community safety, including the Lighthouses Program, Additional Officer Program, mental health and domestic violence courts, internationally recognized Nova Scotia Restorative Justice Program and Mi'kmaw Legal Support Network.

To learn more about CeaseFire Chicago, visit www.ceasefirechicago.org .