The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has decided against endorsing a public inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women.
Instead, the association is calling on all levels of government to take immediate action to address the underlying issues that lead aboriginal women to be vulnerable to crime and violence.
Newly elected association president Clive Weighill (way-hill), chief of the Saskatoon Police Service, says the board of directors met to discuss the question of a public inquiry, and they fear such a process will only delay action.
He says there are many studies that have already pointed to the underlying issues of poverty, poor-housing, racism, social challenges and marginalization.
Weighill says the statistics are startling, with studies in his city showing that aboriginal women are five to six times more likely to be victimized than non-aboriginal women, and that aboriginal people account for more than 80 per cent of the population of Canada's prisons.
He says it's not just a policing issue, and the association wants an action plan that brings together health, social and education services, as well as police.
