Project Sizzle 'knee-jerk' response by police to gang violence, expert says

​Thursday's Project Sizzle raids across the city Thursday are "a short-term, knee-jerk reaction" by police to fighting gangs and gun violence, says a University of Toronto expert on guns and gangs.

The raids, carried out in the Fort York area and Etobicoke shortly before sunrise, led to the arrest of several suspects wanted in connection with local homicides, police said. In all, heavily-armed officers and K9 units stormed 30 locations.

Chief Mark Saunders said police were able to "eradicate" the organization, adding that the Heart of A King gang, also known as HOK, "has significantly been impacted." Police said those arrested face a total of 285 charges. They include first degree murder, attempted murder, trafficking in weapons and cocaine and possession of a restricted firearm.

• Police dismantle Toronto gang Heart of a King linked to 'several' homicides

But Jooyoung Lee, a U of T professor of sociology who has studied gangs and gun violence in Philadelphia and south central Los Angeles, told CBC News he doesn't think the raids will "eradicate gun violence."

"When the police say they've eradicated a gang, they have taken steps to effectively dismantle key leaders or key members but it doesn't address gun violence, Lee told CBC.

Lee said raids such as Project Sizzle create "an immediate vacuum of power" and that "another gang will emerge.

"They're removing a gang from a community but it doesn't address larger structural conditions that give rise to gangs," he said.

• Want to curb gun violence in Hamilton? Build social programs: expert

Investing in long-term solutions instead of what Lee calls "repressive measures" will go a long way towards curbing shootings.

"The police and the city need to invest in creating jobs, affordable housing, intervention programs and after-school programs that deter young people from joining gangs in the first place," Lee said.