Many calling for youth programs after 3 teens charged with murder

Three teens have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder, in the death of Trey Basarowich.

The 16-year-old was shot on October 5th and taken to hospital in critical condition, where he died of his injuries, marking one more grim death in a rising series of youth-related violence in the city.

READ MORE: 3 teens arrested after Winnipeg boy, 16, fatally shot

“We all need to work together to mitigate this alarming trend,” said Constable Claude Chancy, Winnipeg Police Service.

“It’s not just a police problem … I think it’s a collective effort that needs to be made between the services being offered to the youths and the court systems of course, after they have been charged with an incident or charged with an offense.”

Constable Chancy says in general, too many youths don’t have anywhere to go to spend their time, leaving them vulnerable to turning to violent crime.

“These kids have no outlets that are constructive and that’s what they need. They need some outlets, not only to keep their time occupied but to be pointed out in the right direction so that they’re able to take that path that is going to be less harmful to themselves and to others in society,” said Cst. Chancy.

Ron Brown, president and CEO of BCG Winnipeg, says he’s seeing the same trends as Constable Chancy.., but also the same solution: children need a safe place to go so they can make better decisions with their lives.

“When we work with kids, we’re one part of their lives, right? We’re talking about families. We’re talking about schools. We’re talking about friends, peers. They all contribute to kids’ outcomes,” explained Brown.

“What would be the cost of running, say, an inner-city basketball program versus what we’re doing for crime prevention and incarcerating kids for doing bad things? You would that would be a good return on investment.”