Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Wednesday prayer requests - 42 division

Hayley and I live in Scarborough. For those who don't know, Scarborough has a reputation of being one of the worst areas in Canada. The police patrol here is 42 division. This division covers all of Scarborough, which is quite a task.

Recently I found online the 2005 Toronto Police Statistical Report (pdf file). It is a report of all crime by division. If you live in Toronto, take a minute to read over the stats in your division. Here is what it has to say about crimes reported in our very own 42 division:

First degree murder: 7 (7 times more than 41 division)
Attempted murder: 28 (4 times more than 41 division)
Sexual assault: 213
Other assault: 2,793
Robbery: 915 (twice as many as 41 division)
Break & enter: 1,974
Total non-traffic offenses: 21,468

Please pray for this area, the officers that serve and protect, as well as the messengers of the gospel that bring the light of Jesus!

**UPDATE** Some of you may remember a shooting that happened near us back in November - click here. There have been some recent updates in the news about this murder:

Toronto Star article - Sept 1:
On Nov. 1, 2005, McLean — who lived with his mother at 51 Morecambe Gate — answered the phone around 2 a.m. Twenty minutes later, his killers were at his back door.

"As soon as he opened the door, he was brutally and cowardly shot ... There was probably very little conversation between his attackers and himself," Taylor said.

The suspects ran from the scene.

"This is the last place we can trace them to," Taylor said, standing at a fence that divides a plaza from a housing complex at 260 Chester Le Blvd.

Taylor said he believes the suspects knew the area well — and possibly lived there at the time. A low-level marijuana dealer, McLean likely knew his killers. The officer said he does not have a clear motive and noted McLean was not affiliated with gangs. Although Taylor released composite sketches of two suspects, he believes more people were involved.

"Maybe one of those two guys is not comfortable with the shooting. I ask that they contact their lawyer and that they contact me and I'd be more than willing to speak with them."


There is also an article in the latest Inside Toronto.

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