Pubdate: Tue, 14 Jan 2014
Source: Kings County Advertiser, The (CN NS)
Copyright: 2014 Transcontinental Media
Contact:  http://www.kingscountynews.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4746

TICKETING OPTION COULD FREE UP POLICE,COURT

Kentville's police chief and his counterparts across Canada are
proposing changes to the justice system that could create radical change.

Mark Mander - who is chairman of the Canadian Association of Police
Chiefs drug abuse committee - says the proposal could see police
officers write tickets for minor offences instead of laying criminal
charges.

The proposal would have far-reaching impacts. For instance, instead of
laying a criminal charge that would follow someone for life, police
officers would have the discretion to simply ticket a person found
with less than 30 grams of marijuana.

Canada's police chiefs voted overwhelmingly in favour of reforming
this country's drug laws last summer, and Justice Minister Peter
MacKay has pledged to explore the possibility.

The plan makes sense. Right now, police officers only have two
choices: send someone to court or turn a blind eye.

Neither option is necessarily a good one - simply cautioning the
offender might not be enough of a deterrent to ensure it doesn't
happen again, while bringing them to court may be too severe an option.

A person, for instance, could face a lifetime of being passed over for
jobs because they carry a criminal record for a mistake.

The ticket option would also ensure police officers are where we need
them to be: on the streets, and not cooling their heels in a
courtroom, waiting to see if a charge they've laid will go to trial.
Frequently, an accused will plead not guilty, but on the day of the
trial, even as witnesses like police officers wait for the case to be
called, they change their plea. That's a lot of a police officer's
time tied up, waiting for something that isn't going to happen.

It could also have a further-reaching impact of speeding up the court
system in Canada.

The wheels of justice certainly turn slowly at times, as each charge
must first appear in court for plea. Then the accused is given the
documentation by the prosecutor and given time to review it and seek a
lawyer if desired, which requires another return appearance for the
plea to be taken. Then comes a trial or sentencing date is set.

A single, minor case moving through the court system can easily take
months. Removing minor cases from the docket could take some of the
burden off of judges and allow more serious court cases to move ahead
faster.

It's important to note that this plan doesn't involve decriminalizing
marijuana - it's just an option for police to use to deliver immediate
justice for wrongdoing.

It also doesn't take away anyone's choices. Offenders would still have
the option to fight the ticket, or they could simply pay the fine.
It's up to them. Rather, this is simply a shifting of resources to
where they're most needed.  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D