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Toronto Community Housing rewards residents for help in murder investigation

Toronto police have arrested Nicholas Dillion-Jack, the fugitive they were searching for in connection with an attempted murder in Kensington Market

A brazen daytime shooting marred a Toronto community housing complex last week, leaving one young man dead and police searching for as many as three suspects.

Those suspects were in custody within days, thanks in part of support from the residents of the complex. And now, those residents are being rewarded for their help.

Crime and violence, sadly, mars many of Toronto's community housing complexes and police have expressed frustration in the past over the lack of help they have received from locals. Those who live in fear of retribution or are otherwise unwilling to help investigators.

That was not the case at the Queensway Windermere development on Swansea Mews.

[ Related: 3 men charged with murder in public-housing shooting ]

The Toronto Star reported on Wednesday that the Swansea Mews complex was given $150,000 for capital repairs as a "reward" for residents' help in tracking down three murder suspects.

A TCHC spokesperson told Yahoo! Canada News that the money was made "in recognition" of the assistance police received.

The money did not come out of the TCHC’s overall capital expense budget, meaning other complexes are not being shorted on their own repair requests.

TCHC president Gene Jones is said to have moved "heaven and earth" to find extra money, which will go toward basic repairs such as new caulking in the laundry room and fence upkeep.

Consider it a performance bonus, or a Crime Stoppers cash reward paid out in an innovative fashion. But other housing complexes should also see it as a carrot. You help us, we'll help you.

As far as quid pro quos go, this is a fairly innocuous one, but what sort of precedent does this set?

[ More Brew: Officers dismissed at Ottawa jail slammed by ombudsman ]

Will Toronto Community Housing Corp. pay for more accurate information? Does the bounty go up if locals personally deliver the suspects to the police station?

And where there is a carrot, there is often a stick. What happens if a housing community is deemed chronically unhelpful in police investigations?

The truth of the matter is, community housing residents should come forward to help in police investigations. Residents of any crime-inflicted community should stand together in that way.

The Swansea Mews community is more than aware of this. They came forward and helped identity three murder suspects without the promise of fresh caulking in the laundry room. The caulking was just a cherry on top.

Still, how many cherries can TCHC hand out before the tree is fruitless?

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