Idle hands and the Devil's work.

Dear Spin Doctor,

We could use your help in putting a little polish on our image. You may not have heard, but the new numbers are in and it turns out Saskatchewan and its two major cities are national leaders in criminal activity. You can pretty much pick any one you want--most violent crimes, most crimes against property, fastest rising rate of crime and so on. We sort of own these stats. I write in hopes of securing your professional assistance in helping us put a positive spin on these numbers.

Sincerely,

Saskatchewan's Overworked P.R. Department

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The new numbers were, if nothing else, stark, a swat in the mug for those of us who call Saskatchewan home. After all, this is Saskatchewan. We're nice people; kind and proud of our deep traditions of working together, respecting each other and helping a neighbor put up a barn. We don't steal from the neighbor or vandalize their property (except for the outhouse on Hallowe'en), we bring over a freshly-baked pie.

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So how could this happen? Actually, negative crime stats are not a new phenomenon but the latest numbers, which proclaimed for all of Canada that Saskatchewan is a B & E hotbed, just plain hurt.

And you can't help but ask who commits these acts? Clearly those who have jobs--go to bed early and get up early for work--are less likely to be active criminals than those who aren't gainfully employed. Look around your workplace--do you suspect any of your co-workers of moonlighting as a thief? No, probably not.

A job is not only a solid social program it's also a potent vehicle for crime prevention. Those paying their own way and accumulating assets with a twice-monthly paycheque don't have time to prowl neighborhoods looking for something to steal. Indeed, Grandma was right--idle hands do the Devil's work.

And it's education that is the key to getting a crime-defying job. Once you get a job, you have to exhibit a little personal responsibility (like showing up every day and respecting company policy and so on) but the key to getting the job is education. Consequently, it's reasonable to assume the key to crime reduction and prevention lies in our classrooms, in the hands of teachers and school administrators.

Unfortunately, those charged with the assignment have been experiencing some trouble in making the grade. Too many of our young people aren't succeeding in school, dropping out early, finding themselves displaced when it comes to job opportunities.

Actually, one of the more interesting angles on this story is one that has appeared in this column before. It's called Construction Career Services (CCS), a program started through the initiative of a handful of contractors.

Charged with construction of the First Nations University of Canada campus in Regina, the contractors experimented with employment and training offers to a contingent of able-bodied but unemployed individuals. The project worked out so well, at last count, it took 3,000 individuals--Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal--off assistance and put them to work in construction. The program now enjoys the support of all levels of government and post-secondary schools and has expanded to other cities, as it becomes a model for other sectors.

But it also raises some important questions for the education system. CCS is a private sector initiative. It's employers providing basic training (beyond traditional job-specific training) to individuals who failed in the school system. Yet, they're proving day in and day out that they have what it takes to secure a job, hold it and contribute to society rather than sit idly on the sidelines drawing pogey or, worse yet, engaging in illegal activity.

The new crime stats are a very real warning to us all. If we don't figure this one out, the numbers will only get worse. We have one of the youngest populations in Canada and too many of these young people are not finding success in the school system.

Our educators are going to need some help on this one. They must be willing to try new approaches because the current pattern isn't doing the job. The rest of us have to be willing to support their efforts, encouraging new ideas while showing patience if some of these new ideas come up short. We also have to be willing to create jobs for this emerging demographic group.

It's a risk worth taking because the upside is so big. A positive outcome in this field would result in two big changes. The first is more people entering the workforce, paying taxes and fostering economic activity. The second is fewer people looking to criminal activity to fill their time and to sustain themselves.

Conversely, failure is likely to make the crime numbers even worse in the years ahead.

Paul Martin is heard daily on 980 CJME and 650 CKOM as well as on the radio stations of the Golden West Broadcasting network in Saskatchewan.