PATTISON Outdoor Partners with Crime Stoppers to Get Illegal Guns off Streets

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - June 9, 2015) -

Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

According to Statistics Canada's report "Firearms and violent crime in Canada, 2012," there were approximately 5,600 victims of firearm-related violent crime, accounting for 2% of all victims of violent crime. The rate of firearm-related violent crime has decreased 27% since 2009, reaching 21 per 100,000 population in 2012. In 2012, most (57%) victims of firearm-related violent crime were involved in an incident that was handgun-related. Rates of handgun violence are highest in CMAs.¹

Crime Stoppers, working with the Vancouver Police, RCMP and other local police forces, has partnered with PATTISON Outdoor Advertising in hopes of getting 500 or more illegal guns off the streets in the next year. PATTISON donated advertising space to help promote the message with Out-of-Home inventory including Poster and Street Level displays across the greater Vancouver Market. The campaign will run on PATTISON's media displays for the next six months.

"As a longstanding corporate member of the community who values the safety and prosperity of those in it, we feel it necessary to help share the importance of getting guns off the streets and taking action," said Steve McGregor, Vice President/General Manager, Pacific Region, PATTISON Outdoor Advertising. "Being a part of the Cash for Guns initiative in Greater Vancouver will help clean up the illegal gun and gang issues that plague our region. Our donation of media space is just a small portion of a large campaign to be proactive and preventative, and bring this important story to the forefront."

PATTISON's donation for this campaign is part of Crime Stoppers' huge push on 300 billboards and bus shelters across the Metro Vancouver area, including pre-show advertisements at local movie theatres. Cash rewards of up to $2,000 will be offered to anyone with tips leading to the seizure of illegal guns.

With a strategic focus on investing in the social and economic development of communities, PATTISON is committed to fostering strong, healthy partnerships and making a sustainable contribution to the communities where people live, work and play. PATTISON is a strong supporter of the Cash for Guns campaign as part of its corporate social responsibilities.

For more information on Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers, please visit: http://www.solvecrime.ca/home.php.

¹ http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2014001/article/11925-eng.htm#a17

About PATTISON Outdoor Advertising:

PATTISON Outdoor Advertising, a division of The Jim Pattison Group, is Canada's largest Out-of-Home advertising company. Since 1908, PATTISON has been providing innovative solutions for Out-of-Home advertising opportunities with products ranging from traditional billboards and posters to transit, digital, airports, mall, residential, office, and street furniture. PATTISON also offers Canada's largest portfolio of Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) advertising properties, through PATTISON Onestop, a world-leader in the design, operation, and advancement of digital advertising networks for the office, transportation, sports retail, and residential environments, and with its experiential/interactive development arm at Fourth Wall. PATTISON is headquartered in Toronto Ontario and includes 25 sales offices across the country providing advertisers unmatched reach and coverage with products available in nearly 200 markets coast to coast. PATTISON Outdoor Advertising is the exclusive supplier for advertising on the Toronto Transit Commission's (TTC) transit system.

www.pattisonoutdoor.com

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