Criminal negligence...

The Globe has a front-page story today, based on a United Way report, telling us what most Torontonians have already figured out - that the city's ghettos "no longer exist primarily in its downtown core but have moved to the so-called inner suburbs."

Okay, so this isn't exactly news. But if nothing else, maybe it's a useful reminder that we might want to pay a bit more attention to what's happening to our suburbs. And by "we", I suppose I mean people who can actually do something about it.

That leads to a question I hope to explore in a little more detail sometime soon, probably in print form. Namely, why are this country's liberal politicians so gun-shy when it comes to targeting crime?

To the extent that it's a political issue at all right now, crime and community safety seems to be almost entirely the domain of more conservative types. But for the most part, they're playing to their constituencies - upper middle-class voters who think their neighbourhoods are going to hell in a handbasket. The statistics, though, would suggest that most of Toronto is actually safer than it was a few years ago. Unless I'm missing something, if violent crime rates are more or less consistent city-wide, but have risen astronomically in a few rough areas, that means there are actually fewer violent crimes happening in the rest of the city than there used to be.

Meanwhile, the people liberal politicians are supposed to be most concerned with - folks who belong to various minority groups, have relatively low incomes, and are often recent immigrants - are genuinely being terrorized. But even as conservatives play to the sorts of people who call talk radio shows to complain that they're afraid to go out at night in family-friendly North Toronto, there's hardly anybody speaking for the ones who really need spokespeople. David Miller has finally taken a noticeable interest of late, but it wasn't exactly front and centre in his mayoral campaign. The same could be said for Dalton McGuinty, and Paul Martin - and if you question just how liberal either of those two are, consider that it doesn't seem to be top of Jack Layton's mind, either.

I guess the thinking is that there are no votes to be had in crime-ridden corners of Scarborough or Rexdale. But if someone was willing to wrestle the crime agenda away from people who think the entire debate comes down to grandstanding about tougher sentencing, they might actually be able to, you know, help people.

Updates, and some unsolicited advice on what CD not to buy

If you're inclined to look at the rest of this site, you'll be pleased to know that I've added my latest column from the Citizen. I've also added my CD reviews from 2003, which you can find in the archive.

Speaking of which, my review of The Cooper Temple Clause's sophomore album, which goes by the rather cumbersome title of Kick Up the Fire and Let the Flames Break Loose, can be found in today's Post. I'll post it later in the week, but you'll have to buy a copy of the paper if you're breathlessly awaiting my verdict on this band you've probably never heard of. Or you can just settle for knowing that you've probably never heard of them for a reason - they're not very good. Download "Talking to a Brick Wall", if downloading is the sort of thing you're inclined to do, and skip the rest of the album.