Pubdate: Mon, 19 Sep 2011 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2011 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Ian Mulgrew, Vancouver Sun TOUGH-ON-CRIME BILL MEANINGLESS WHEN JUSTICE SYSTEM IS BROKEN In Britain, they are complaining about the chaos triggered by knee-jerk sentencing of the U. K.' s August rioters, with cries of " too tough, too tough!" Accusations that the judiciary suffered a " collective loss of proportion" are flying: one person got six months for stealing less than $ 10 worth of water, and two youths were jailed for four years for inciting riots on Facebook that didn't happen. With at least 1,800 people already processed for misconduct during the English disturbances, however, the Brits at least have a legal system that's working, for good or ill. Here we await even the first indictment from the June 15 Stanley Cup riot. Though I note the man who attacked a Crown lawyer Thursday in Prince George already faces charges of assault, assault causing bodily harm, mischief and using violence against an officer of the court. I guess there was no video to forensically deconstruct or whatever they're doing that's slowing up the riot charges. In Toronto, they've only begun the preliminary hearings for those charged with conspiracy in 2010' s summit protests. So Prime Minister Stephen Harper's plans to unveil his long-promised Dirty Harryinspired crime law Tuesday strikes me as remarkably offkey. We're going to show those bad guys now! Right. In the recent election campaign, Harper vowed to bundle 12 law-and-order bills that died with the last Parliament into omnibus legislation and ensure their passage. He intends to eliminate some versions of house arrest, halt automatic pardons for serious crimes, crack down on organized drug crime, protect children from sexual predators, strengthen citizens' rights to self-defence and jail guerrilla pot growers. Judges will lose some discretion in sentencing with more mandatory punishments, and a lot more people will go to jail. Maybe we need these new measures, but I'm doubtful. There is still far too much crime in Canada, the Conservative leader insists, even though crime rates have been declining for years. Empirical evidence is obviously not being marshalled. Statistics are no excuse not to get tough on criminals, according to a supportive memo circulated Sunday to Conservative MPs and leaked to the media. Quite simply, people are not reporting to the police that they are a victim of crime, the memo states. More needs to be done. I could quibble that I don't see a lot of unreported murders, bank robberies or riots. The memo continues: These tough new actions will hold criminals more accountable, help improve the safety and security of individuals, and extend greater protection to the most vulnerable members of society and victims of terrorism. Canadians want and deserve to be able to feel safe in their homes and communities and that means that dangerous criminals need to be off our streets. The problem is, as the riot proves, our legal system is lurching along because of government cutbacks. Public confidence also is faltering because it isn't working the way people want it to. It doesn't appear to be working at all sometimes. It is not inspiring that it took 13 years to actually jail two of the most infamous fraudsters in Canadian history in Garth Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb. Frankly, all the prime minister's rhetoric is meaningless sound and fury in a real world where the system can't process cases in a timely fashion: Justice delayed is justice denied. Last week, the associate chief judge of the Provincial Court tossed serious drug-trafficking charges against a man, not because he was innocent but because it had taken too long for his trial. The most severe sentences in the world are irrelevant if the bad guys can expect a walk because of trial delays. Harper's supposedly tough new actions will not do what they are supposed to do because the underlying system is in need of repair. Just as we need to invest in bridges, roads and sewers, we must put money into the legal institutions that maintain civil society and support public faith in the system. Not rhetoric, cash. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.