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4 Oakville Beaver Weekend Sunday, September 26, 1999 M o r e c o p s o n t h e s t r e e ts w i l l r e d u c e c r im e s a y s A t t o r n e y G e n e r a l By Amber Clarice SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Along with tax cuts, personal safety is a top priority for the Progressive Conservative govern­ ment when the Ontario Legislature convenes on Oct. 20th, says Attorney General Jim Flaherty. "Personal safety has been a top priority for us, and as we begin our second term it remains a top priority,"" Flaherty told members of the Canadian Club of Oakville, Wednesday night. "People have the right not only to be safe, but to feel safe, in their homes, on the streets and in their communities. To be free from intimidation and free from harass­ ment," he said. To combat crime the province is funding 1,000 new front line, uniformed police officers. More crown attorneys are also being hired. "One thing we know is the more visible police are, in uni­ forms, in marked cars, in neigh­ borhoods, the lower the crime rate will be. There's a direct correla­ tion," said Flaherty. Addressing youth violence is another top priority for the Tory government. Flaherty said stronger young offender legisla­ tion is needed to deter violent youth crime and make sure young people take responsibility for their actions. He is critical of proposed changes to young offender legisla­ tion the federal government will introduce this fall - "which in our view is soft on violent offenders and does little to improve safety in Ontario," said Flaherty. "The federal proposals offer no guarantee of meaningful conse­ quences for criminal behaviour. And that is unacceptable." Other priorities include giving victims of crime a strong presence in the justice system and modern­ izing the justice system in terms of technology. "We want to make sure victims of crime are treated as a main­ stream part of the criminal justice system," he said. According to Flaherty, the inclusion of victim' voices will be the biggest change in the administration of justice in Ontario, and across Canada, over the next 10 years. Another change is the adoption of a comprehensive $200 million I t randdaughter cousin niece d au g h te r a u n t g ran d m o th er s is te r m o th e wi fe The reasons w e 're ask ing you to run are a ll re la tive . O ne way or another, Breast Cancer may affect someone tha t's close to you. So as a national sponsor, Ford is encouraging everyone to get out there on Sunday, October 3rd to support the CIBC Run for the Cure, raising funds for Breast Cancer Research. 1 - 8 0 0 - 3 8 7 - 9 8 1 6 www.ford.ca dollar information system called the Integrated Justice Program. The goal of the new system is to get Ontario court­ houses out of the paper age, and to electronically link courts, judges, lawyers, prosecutors, police and cor­ rectional officers. The Tories will introduce legislation in the fall session aimed at ridding city streets of squeegee kids and aggressive panhandlers, said Flaherty. Child molester preys on children shopping with parents Oakville parents, who go shop­ ping with their children, are being asked by Halton Regional Police to be extra vigilant following two recent incidents. Police are currently investigating two separate incidents where young children have been touched inappro­ priately by a man in two different large retail stores in town. The occurrences took place during regu­ lar business hours. In the first case, a mother took her three children shopping in August when her four-year-old daughter was briefly left alone in an aisle. The girl was approached by a man who lifted her dress and touched her. The girl told her mother and they looked for the suspect in the store without success. The incident was reported to police several weeks later. The second incident took place shortly after 6 p.m. on Thursday. The five-year-old victim was with her mother in a store and was lured away by a man while her mother was talking with a clerk. The suspect then touched the girl inappropriate­ ly. Afterwards, the girl told her mother what had happened. Police were immediately notified and unsuccessfully scoured the store for a suspect. The suspect is described as a tall, white, middle-aged male with short blond hair and brown eyes. He was wearing brown pants, white shirt with light blue horizontal stripes and a white jacket. Anyone who may have witnessed or has knowledge of a male adult approaching young females in retail stores, is asked to call police at 825- 4747. ROYAL BANK I n v e s t m e n t a n d R e t ir e m e n t P l a n n i n g 40 YEARS OF FINANCIAL EXPERIENCE ED KIMBERLEY (905) 849-1724 http://www.ford.ca More cops on the streets will reduce crime says Attorney General By Amber Clarice wife The reasons we're asking you to run are all relative. 1 - 800-387-9816 Child molester preys on children shopping with parents