The Guardian Angels are hoping to return to Toronto, but they're not getting much encouragement from the city.

Curtis Sliwa, head of the civilian anti-crime group based in New York City, flew into Toronto Friday to try to establish a chapter in the city.

Sliwa was responding to dozens of e-mails from Torontonians concerned about crime.

Curtis Sliwa
Curtis Sliwa

The shooting of 15-year-old Jane Creba on a crowded street in the downtown core on Boxing Day shocked the city.

Sliwa met with York Regional Police Chief Armand La Barge, but not with Toronto's top officer.




Chief Bill Blair noted the Angels had tried to establish themselves in Toronto before, but had not succeeded, and he wasn't interested in trying what didn't work 14 years ago.

"If they have some new approaches, some new interventions, then certainly I'll listen," Blair said.

Mayor David Miller also refused to speak to Sliwa. He said he does not agree with their approach.

Silwa and colleagues, wearing the group's trademark red berets, patrolled three neighbourhoods in Toronto known for crime, spreading the word about their organization.

"If you look at the New York example when we started, (there were) 2,500 murders a year," Silwa told CBC News. "Now it's down to 500. That's not acceptable but, wow, for us in New York that's miraculous. Now, I'm not taking all the credit for that, I'm taking a very small slice."

The Angels have a highly visible presence on New York streets, where they talk to young people and provide another set of eyes to report criminal activity.

The group first tried to set up their a chapter in Toronto during the mid-1980s and then again in 1992.