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
Author: Kirk Starrattk

POLICE CHIEFS WANT TICKETING OPTION FOR MINOR OFFENCES

Writing a ticket for a minor offence instead of laying a criminal
charge could save the justice system a lot of time and money, says
Kentville police chief Mark Mander.

Discussions between the Canadian Association of Police Chiefs and the
federal government about reigning-in rising policing costs has
resulted in a proposal that could help free-up court resources and
keep police on the street instead of in the witness box.

Mander, chairman of the Canadian Association of Police Chiefs drug
abuse committee, said the plan is only at the discussion stage now.
However, it builds on a resolution put forth by his committee this
past summer that was passed by the association.

That resolution would see changes made to allow police to issue a
ticket under the Contraventions Act for people caught in possession of
less than 30 grams of cannabis marijuana. Mander said Justice Minister
Peter MacKay has agreed to explore the possibility.

"From an economics of policing and public safety perspective, should
we be looking at other minor offences that could be dealt with through
a summary offence ticket instead of going to court?" Mander said.
"It's another tool in the tool belt for police."

Under this scenario, police still want to have discretion to lay
criminal charges, he said. However, ticketing for minor offences gives
police an option to give an immediate consequence for a person's
actions. He points out that police are not interested in the ticket
option from a revenue perspective; rather, it would be a cost-saving
measure.

Police officers are spending a lot of time in court testifying in
cases involving relatively minor crimes. These matters can drag on for
over a year in some instances. For example, Mander recently had two
officers in court all day waiting to testify. This is a human
resources drain if the officers are scheduled for a shift and a
significant cost to the police department if they have to pay officers
overtime to sit through court.

"All these cases are clogging up the system," Mander
said.

He wonders what relatively minor court matters are costing the rest of
the justice system. Mander believes we have to look for efficiencies
across the system that could save tax dollars.

"We're a 24-hour system trying to plug into an eight-hour,
nine-to-five system," Mander said of police and the courts. "I'm not
saying we want night court, but we have to look at
everything."

The accused would still be able to fight a summary offence ticket,
enter a not guilty plea and take the matter to trial, but this would
give them the option to avoid court.

The first major hurdle would be getting all stakeholders in the
justice system together to define what offences would be considered
"minor." Mander said a person charged with causing a disturbance
because of a noisy party, for example, would get the message through a
ticket.

Mander added that revenue generated from marijuana possession fines
could be used to fund preventative measures such as education
initiatives and treatment programs.  
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D