Pubdate: Thu, 22 Sep 2011 Source: Nanaimo Daily News (CN BC) Copyright: 2011 Nanaimo Daily News Contact: http://www.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1608 TORY CRIME BILL GOING IN WRONG DIRECTION Determined to pander to his political supporters, Prime Minster Stephen Harper tabled an omnibus crime bill Tuesday that is both unnecessary and foolish. The bill, known as the Safe Streets and Communities Act, comprises nine individual justice bills that died during the previous parliamentary session because the minority Tory government could not push them through. With a majority now, Harper can steamroll over the objections of the Opposition. The bill is foolish because it comes with a huge price. Prior to the last election, the Harper government said it wanted to spend $2 billion to expand and build new federal penitentiaries. Harper's crime bill seeks to crack down on young offenders, drug dealers, sexual predators and Canadians in foreign prisons is under fire from critics, who rightly argue it's a waste of time and money since crime rates are declining in the country. There are aspects of the proposed legislation that make sense. If passed, it will eliminate the option of house arrest for those who have been convicted of violent and property crimes, such as: sexual assault; human trafficking; arson; breaking and entering; child luring; and kidnapping. However, it goes too far and fails to recognize Statistics Canada data from the past few years that indicate crime is actually going down in this country. It also ignores American studies that say locking people up for longer doesn't help reform them. The bill appears to dismiss the worthiness of restorative justice programs that have served residents of Nanaimo well. The bill focuses on incarceration rather than crime prevention. What is more cost-efficient, jail time after the fact at $50,000 a year per inmate, or crime prevention and restorative justice programs that cost peanuts in comparison? The bill would also increase costs to cash-strapped provinces like B.C., since the majority of convicted criminals are not sent to federal penitentiaries but to provincial institutions funded by the provinces. With more convictions for minor drug crimes, B.C. will need to construct more facilities to house those who are convicted. Nobody disputes that there are problems that need to be addressed in this country's justice system. However, to try to solve them all in one all-encompassing bill that ignores the facts does nothing to address these problems. There are many dedicated people with the John Howard Society in Nanaimo who have witnessed how restorative justice programs help both criminals and victims, but their input was ignored by this government. Catherine Latimer of the John Howard Society's national office expressed concerns about the proposed bill, including the potential for overcrowding in prisons, the cost to the province and taxpayers. "We think it will endanger corrections workers and inmates and compromise rights and not promote good corrections and undermine principles of justices and have a disproportionately harsh impact on some of the most vulnerable members of our society," she said. Make no mistake, the Safe Streets and Communities Act won't make this community any safer. It may send more criminals to jail but they will eventually be released after receiving a PhD in crime from fellow inmates. And they will use their newfound knowledge on the unsuspecting public. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.