Pubdate: Mon, 02 Mar 2009 Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU) Copyright: 2009 Canwest Publishing Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274 ANTI-GANG MEASURES HAVE LITTLE LASTING VALUE The mounting body count from brazen daylight street-gang shootings across Canada, but especially in British Columbia, seems to make a very strong case for beefing up the laws on gang-related crimes. But the stiffer sanctions proposed last week, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Justice Minister Rob Nicholson introduced new anti-gang legislation, might please voters but will have little lasting value. Automatic first-degree charges for gang-related murders, and new charges against drive-by and public shootings, complete with mandatory minimum sentences, will not add much to the dissuasive power of existing laws. Murder and attempted murder, whether committed in a suburban mall, from a moving car, or in an empty field, by a member of a gang or by a solo shooter, are already criminal acts with hefty sanctions against them. Redrafting legislation is cheap, but rarely effective. If criminals routinely made risk assessments, announcing tough new laws every so often might be useful. But they don't. As Quebec well knows, successful prosecution of street gangs depends not on posturing politicians and stern laws, but on well-funded, well-staffed and well-co-ordinated efforts across the justice system. In this province, the 1990s biker wars kept growing because police and the government did not know how to respond. Desperately underfunded, police forces in Montreal and beyond were scrambling just to count up the more than 160 killings during the drug wars. But Quebec did finally get its act together, funding an anti-gang squad, building a special courthouse, and providing its long-suffering prosecutors with the tools they needed. The result was an end to the bloodbath. In fairness, Ottawa's plan to change the criminal code is one of the few things the federal government can do. The B.C. government is handling the practical part: hiring more police and prosecutors, and building more courts and jails to handle the expected influx. The first step must always be policing. Vancouver is a major entry point to Canada for illegal drugs. Street gangs there are battling for control of the trade - just as the Hells Angels did in Montreal. In Quebec, the tide turned after the formation of a special anti-gang squad, with various police forces participating. The same could prove true in Vancouver - if one is ever created. Astonishingly, metro Vancouver does not yet have such a framework. A number of area police forces are not involved in greater Vancouver's gang-or homicide task forces. Canadians want to feel safe when they're out shopping or strolling in their downtown. And in fact, violent crime has dropped throughout the country, with the exception of gang-related crime. This suggests that the solution must begin with police forces, which now need to devote more energy to fighting gang crime. Today Montreal has a new generation of gang problems, not as spectacular as those in B.C.'s lower mainland, but bad enough. Our city, after easing up on its commitment to fighting street gangs, has had to get right back in the game, with a dedicated police unit and budget. That's how to do it. There are no legislative shortcuts to success. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom