The tragedy of Mayerthorpe, Alberta in 2005 was an awakening experience for me. Why did four, very brave and innocent men, need to lose their lives before people starting taking notice of their serious faults in the Canadian corrections and justice system. Why does a criminal receive “lax” treatment and able to remain (or be released) in society where they are able to commit more offences and worse of all, create more victims. Should we not remove people from society for serious and dangerous behavior towards their fellow citizens? I have heard many analogies about crime, the criminal, and justice in particular, but I find it very difficult to use any analogy when one of the negative ends of crime is a suffering human being. It is in that regard, that we should not put a price tag on the cost of protection; it is necessary and vital to the average citizen’s safety.
There are some main areas of interest, where drastic change is needed:
Judicial Reform
Being raised in a small town, there was a common misconception that there was very little crime in our community, but I learned at an early age that this was not the case. The first element of crime that I noticed was the drug trade. In high school, marijuana and its influence was in large part, the “drug of choice”. Now, looking back, it was the least of our worries as crystal meth and cocaine are now the apparent vices in many of our communities today. Many of us can remember watching on the television screens, as candy flavored crystal meth was a hot topic of discussion. Criminals have become bold! “Strawberry” or “cherry” crystal meth, targeted to a much younger age group, is the bizarre reality of what has come to fruition from the neglect and liberalization of our criminal justice system.
I watched coverage of the Mayerthorpe Tragedy in horror, as James Roszko, a man who had been through the criminal justice system almost too many times to count, killed four innocent men who served most honorably as members of the RCMP. One of these officers I had known since I was a young child and it broke my heart to see this tragedy, and the suffering it caused, befall our nation. James Roszko is a classic case and one of the strongest examples of a person who has been through the “revolving” door of the courtroom while remaining a danger to society. This person was allowed to reside in the community even though he was a proven danger and threat.
I have seen one of my closest childhood friends go to prison for drug distribution related offences. To this day I believe inaction by the youth criminal justice act led to his downfall. There was plenty of opportunity to change criminal behavior early in this person’s life by proper and necessary judicial action. Instead of any real negative feedback for the early youth crimes this person committed, he was treated more like a victim and the all too common “slap on the wrist” approach was used to correct his behavior. These ineffective punitive sentences led to more extreme and brash offences that eventually led to iron bars.
Criminals have made playgrounds of our communities for years and the time has come for Canadians to stop tolerating it. I have resided in Edmonton-East constituency since 2005. On a daily basis, strong elements of prostitution, organized crime, drug trafficking, and poverty related to alcoholism and drug use, can be noticed by the inhabitants of our area. In a recent December 2008 Edmonton Police Service review, 51% of the police force has seriously considered quitting this past year; even our police officers are getting fatigued at the continuing increase of crime and the continuing decrease of responsible action [1] .
There are nearly 160 000 persons under the responsibility of correctional services, approximately 21% are in custody while a remaining 79% are out on day paroles and “community” supervision [2]. Not everyone needs to be in jail for a crime they commit, but everyone who is a serious danger to the public and has proven so through criminal action should not be in the community until proper rehabilitation is successfully completed. Furthermore, the “early release” program for convicted offenders – primarily aimed at alleviating crowding in our penitentiary system – should be abolished in favor of building new correctional facilities, which hasn’t been done in decades.
The federal government’s primary responsibility is the safety and security of its citizens above all else. Each year there are too many new victims of crime a result of the non-rehabilitated criminals in society, deterrent for criminal offence (especially in youth justice where there is a chance to change criminal behavior), and a mentality that Canadians will continue to allow criminals to flourish and use our communities for their gain.
I propose a “made in Canada” solution that is bold, will make our communities safer and will finally promote a victims-first approach. No longer should Canada allow time served to be the basis for the reintroduction of a person to society. The reverse onus on bail should be taken one step further. Canada should implement a reverse onus on release. The simple argument is that we should not allow people who could be a very real danger to public safety back into society when we are not convinced that they will practice safe conduct when released. Canada should remove minimum and maximum sentences and have a single sentence. This single sentence would be the amount of time a convicted offender must serve before they are allowed to submit their request for release. Even then the offender would have to provide reasonable evidence that they are a rehabilitated member of society and wish to exist peacefully.
Along with this new approach, a stronger and more deterrent form of judicial law is needed to allow our communities to once again become safe and prosperous places for Canadians to thrive in.
Narcotics
Drug use is a very “touchy” subject for a lot of Canadians. Many people feel that marijuana and other drugs are merely recreation pastimes and there is no need for society or government to be concerned or to intervene. Lately, many people have chosen to ignore the issue entirely, while police departments and correctional services still are fighting an extremely uphill battle.
Drugs are mind-numbing substances that cause the user to transform the hormonal levels in their body to unnatural levels; after prolonged use the body and brain become used to the regular use of recreational drugs and build a dependency. The body will actually end up changing normal metabolic patterns to include regular use of drugs. This is why a drug user may experience abnormal “highs” and “lows” as the body competes to restore a normal balance. In short, yes, drugs are highly addictive.
Why is marijuana such a big deal? Using the above information it can be concluded that marijuana is not a healthy substance, even the smoke inhalation is harmful like cigarette smoke. Marijuana grow-ops in particular are a drastic problem in Canada, especially in British Columbia. In 2006, the RCMP Drug Situation Report concluded that marijuana grow-ops accounted for over $5 billion in revenue, making it the third highest industry in the province [3]. It is estimated that there are at least 17 000 active grow-ops in British Columbia [4]. BC Hydro estimates that there is approximately $500-$900 million in power theft a year by illegal marijuana grow-ops. The power theft also has the added risk of producing harmful and damaging fires to the area. Since most grow ops are in residential areas, power-theft has the potential to create serious wildfires.
Marijuana grow-ops are just the tip of the iceberg in a series of dangerous drug incidents that puts very large profits in the hands of organized criminals who turn these profits into larger criminal organizations.
References
[1] : CBC News Article
[2]: Correctional Service of Canada
[3]: RCMP Drug Situation Report 2006
[4]: Fraser Institute: Marijuana Growth in British Columbia
