mandatory minimum sentencing

Mandatory minimums won't curtail illicit drugs

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Thu, 04/15/2010 - 2:51pm
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Evan Wood, Urban Health Program
Illicit drugs represent one of the greatest threats to community health, and recent examples of drug-related violence across Canada show the toll continues to mount:
 
A double slaying in picturesque Old Montreal has the hallmarks of a professional hit. Winnipeg police warn of “imminent” violence after a crackdown on a Hells Angels puppet club creates a power vacuum that a rival outlaw motorcycle gang tries to fill. Police directly tie the increase in gang violence on the streets of Vancouver and other Canadian cities to the drug cartel wars terrorizing Mexico. Read more »

Balance in justice system a tough call

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Wed, 04/07/2010 - 1:33pm
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By Andrew Hanon, QMI Agency

Al Wachowich had a few things to get off his chest.

“We get this criticism all the time, that we’re not hard enough,” the recently retired Alberta chief justice told the federal justice committee during a recent hearing in Edmonton.

The committee has been hearing testimony about organized crime. Wachowich was the first member of the judiciary to testify.

He’s heard the accusation innumerable times over his lengthy career: That judges coddle criminals and are too quick to hand out alternative punishments over jail time.

Wachowich told the all-party committee that Canada has one of the highest incarceration rates in the industrialized world, at 130 prisoners per 100,000 population.

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Harper Government Borrowing, Increasing Taxes, to Build Prisons - Crime at 30 year low

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Tue, 03/09/2010 - 12:13pm
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By Janice Tibbetts, Canwest News Service

OTTAWA — The head of Canada's prison system says there will be "major construction initiatives" in the coming years to cope with federal legislation to imprison more offenders longer — an assertion backed by new spending estimates showing a 43 per cent increase in penitentiary capital costs next year.

Don Head, commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada, set the stage for prison expansion in a recent e-mail, obtained by Canwest News Service.

In a brief note to staff sent on Dec. 23, Head announced changes to the senior ranks of the prison system "to best prepare itself to implement many of the changes associated with several of the pieces of legislation that will result in a growth of our inmate population."

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Crime bills to be scrutinized, Liberals warn

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Wed, 03/03/2010 - 12:12pm
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By. Shannon Kari, National Post

One of the stated reasons for the prorogation of Parliament was that the resetting of Senate committees would better allow the Tories to pass their crime legislation, parts of which had been held up in the Upper Chamber in the past.

But the Liberal justice critic says his party is not going to approve speedy passage of all the crime legislation through the House of Commons -- even if that leads to accusations of being labeled "soft on crime" -- when Parliament resumes this week.

"What you are going to see in the coming weeks is a more focused discussion from us," said Dominic LeBlanc. "We are not going to be wedged anymore. We will look at each bill one-by-one to see if it is more effective for public safety," the New Brunswick MP explained.

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The mandatory minimums myth

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 12:49pm
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By. Globe and Mail

When it comes to mandatory minimum prison sentences, Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson is a true believer. He and his government see them as a valuable weapon in the fight to deter crime. Mr. Nicholson may have a secret cache of studies that bear out this contention, but most criminology research points in the opposite direction.

His opinion also runs counter to the conclusions of a parliamentary committee that Mr. Nicholson served on in 1988. Citing ineffectiveness and prohibitive costs, it recommended against creating new mandatory minimum sentences. What changed for Mr. Nicholson? It is to be hoped that it was not the easy electoral gain that comes from scaring the public into embracing tough-on-crime measures.

Mandatory minimums send a message that society is serious about stamping out crime. But do potential criminals get that message? To date, there is no reliable evidence that the average scofflaw ponders sentencing ranges before he knocks off the local convenience store.

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We might as well pay the mafia

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Fri, 02/12/2010 - 1:07pm
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by Jonathan Ryan, The MUSE

The proroguing of Parliament has been all over the news lately and whether or not you believe that Mr. Harper has the right to use the option to prorogue parliament the way he has, one thing is certain: He has not been on vacation.

With the appointment of five new senators, Mr. Harper has tipped the balance of the senate further towards the political right. Now, it’s time to dust off some old plans.

You see, conservatives (and I mean conservatives in general, not just the political party) are a lot like communists. They’re both obsessed with undertaking courses of action that have been proven to be ineffective (often highly ineffective) in the past.

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Revised C-15 Sentencing Schedule

Submitted by Jacob Hunter on Sat, 12/05/2009 - 1:51pm
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Here is the C-15 sentencing schedule as amended by the Senate Committee.
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