A Saskatoon woman is speaking out about what she calls a rise in gang activity in the city. Her efforts follow a recent incident in in which she says she was assaulted.
Michelle Michael was pulled into a house on Avenue G South, smashed in the face with a gun, robbed, and then let go.
After she called police, the home was surrounded, and a 19-year-old now faces charges.
Michael says he's a gang member who likely wasn't worried about getting caught, as most victims are too scared to speak up.
She's tired of it. "Why should I let these terrorists run my life? Why should I let them run my neighbourhood?"
Michael says violent incidents like this happen all the time in the inner city, but are often not reported to police.
"A lot of people won't speak up because there's little to no resources to protect people from retaliation of being a rat, or a snitch. And in my eyes it's about keeping the community safe," says Michael.
Saskatoon police say the crime rate has dropped in the past couple of years. More officers have been added to the gang unit, and there's a lot of work behind the scenes the public doesn't know about.
"If they fear for their life and there's evidence something may happen to them then certainly that's something that can be discussed and worked on," says Inspector Shelley Ballard.
But Michael says it's just easier to just stay quiet and safe. She says the number of gangs may not be increasing, but they're getting more violent.
Police say gang activity is always changing, and they're doing their best to stay informed.
"We're aware there are gangs out there, we're concerned about it as well. And we're doing absolutely everything we can and looking for new ideas on how to deal with things," says Ballard.
And while Michael is still worried about her own safety, she hopes that by speaking up others will find the courage to do the same.
