3. Affordable recreation for youth.

4. Finding solutions for the social housing backlog.

A “panel of experts” will consult with the community, police and others and report back Oct. 23 – the day after the municipal election.

“I don’t want to wait a minute. I want to hit the ground running,” Brown said in announcing the initiative will be chaired by retiring regional councillor Gael Miles, working with Peel Regional Police Association President Adrian Woolley and local Chaplain Gerry Thompson.

Brown referred to a “rising tide of crime” in Brampton.

Quoting recent crime statistics reported by The Guardian, Brown noted an 11 per cent increase in shootings as of the end of July compared to 2017, which was a record year for shootings.

He also said Peel has an average of 133 officers per 100,000 population, a “shockingly low” ratio compared to the provincial average, which he said is 189 officers per 100,000.

He said 42 per cent of the calls handled by Peel police involved mental health issues, but the COAST program is woefully underfunded, with officers spending six to eight hours at the hospital dealing with mental health crises instead of fighting crime.

He also criticized the cost of recreation in Brampton, saying it is higher than other communities, and noted there are “barriers” to recreation that mean youth have nowhere to go.

But the low police/population ratio means police are understaff and non-violent crimes are not being investigated because of it.

“They (police) don’t have the resources,” he said, noting it has forced police to “pick and choose” which crimes to look into.

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