Handgun bans. Anti-gang crackdowns. Easy bail. In Toronto, as the number of people killed or injured in shootings continues to surge, such terms are often used by municipal leaders, politicians, police. But what do we really know about guns, gangs, and possible solutions to a growing violence problem? In an ongoing series, the Star is aiming to find answers … and to find out when we don’t know the answers … to some life-and-death questions.Breaking the early dawn calm on a June day last year, a team of 800 police officers spread out across the Greater Toronto Area like tentacles. They charged into homes, arrest warrants in hand, as part of a full-throttle crackdown on a highly co-ordinated criminal organization.Officers, some heavily armed, arrested more than six dozen people. Among them, police said, were some of the highest-ranking members of the street gang Five Point Generalz.Rooted in the Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue West area, police alleged the gang’s criminal activities had a vast reach throughout the GTA and Canada, the United States and into the Caribbean. Investigators believe the gang was active in drug sales and distribution and linked to multiple shootings.“Our investigators are confident that Project Patton has effectively disrupted and dealt a significant blow to the hierarchy and operations of the Five Point Generalz,” Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders told a news conference after the June 21, 2018 raid. Police later laid out the spoils. On tables in the Toronto police media gallery were cash, drugs and dozens of guns, some of them brightly coloured and resembling water pistols or toy weapons. “Project Patton,” as it was dubbed, was the type of major guns and gangs bust that happens about once a year, part of the police attempt to tackle violent crime. But while the traditional show-and-tell that follows appears to indicate major progress, do such initiatives work? Are there other methods that ...
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