Re: "Harper plan 'repugnant electioneering': Mandatory minimum sentences don't work, local criminal trial lawyers group says," The Journal, Oct. 6. Brian Hurley, president of the Edmonton Criminal Trial Lawyers Association, says "mandatory minimum sentences don't work." But he gives no indication of what does. He also says "minimums also mean jails get more crowded."OK, what about building new prisons like they have in Arizona? Its approach seems to reduce the cost of operation and the problem of repeat offenders. [continues 151 words]
Thankfully, we now hear baby steps. But will same old be same old, lots of jaw action? The status quo is not acceptable. That's what Ron Stevens, the province's justice minister, tells us. That's what Rick Hanson, the city police chief, tells us. That's what Bronco, the mayor, tells us. That's what Stephen Harper's Conservatives tell us. That's what polls tell us. The hug-a-thug criminal justice system is broke, a joke when it comes to who gets bail, a mystery when to comes to what sentence goes with what beef and what bonehead. But somehow, in all this telling to us, we still have no shortage of screaming headlines and shocking stories. [continues 719 words]
The lack of a drug treatment centre in Medicine Hat has been called unbelievable by the local health board, and they plan on telling the provincial government exactly that. "This is becoming absurd," said Palliser Health Region (PHR) Chair Carol Secondiak, adding that the region's population growth has meant an increase in addictions. "They're going to be taking up more of our hospital inpatient beds in an area they shouldn't be." Along with PHR's president Tom Seaman, Secondiak will meet with Health Minister Dave Hancock and new AADAC chair Harvey Cenaiko to emphasize the need for a treatment facility in PHR. [continues 270 words]
Nobody in Edmonton was looking forward to the end of summer more than Det. Maurice Brodeur. The veteran Edmonton cop, who cherishes Edmonton's too-few warm evenings and the smell of meat on the grill as much as anyone, was being driven crazy by what police officers across the city have described as one of the most frustrating seasons they've ever experienced. Not because the city was in the grip of a massive crime wave, mind you. Rather, they were all being driven batty by the shortage of men and women in uniform, thanks to as many as three retirements a week and everyone else trying to squeeze in a couple of weeks vacation. [continues 520 words]
Still not two years on the job, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has yet to reach Jean Chretien's skill at the politics of "let's not and say we did." Indeed, he may never equal the master's Kyoto masterpiece, in which the former Liberal government took the high road on climate change and then barely look a step along it. But Harper's drug announcement last week, which sounded as though he was starting a U.S.-style "war on drugs," but which actually put most of the hard cash on prevention and harm reduction for drug users, shows he is learning quickly. [continues 494 words]
Mandatory Minimum Sentences Don't Work, Local Criminal Trial Lawyers Group Says EDMONTON - The Harper government's promise of mandatory jail sentences for drug pushers is repugnant electioneering, says the Edmonton Criminal Trial Lawyers Association. The federal government knows through its own studies that mandatory minimum sentences don't work, association president Brian Hurley said Friday. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who unveiled plans Thursday for minimum sentences, is smart enough to know the strategy doesn't work, Hurley said. Harper announced his government will introduce legislation this fall to impose minimum jail terms for making and trafficking dangerous drugs such as methamphetamines and cocaine. He has suggested the defeat of major government bills may trigger an election. [continues 335 words]
Police Advise Steps For Crime-Free Multi-Housing EDMONTON - There will never be enough police officers to deal with every landlord-tenant dispute in town, Const. Dale Brenneis says. But the Edmonton police officer has a three-step program to keep tenants on meth from even getting in the door -- long before they start partying loudly, urinating in hallways or bringing home sex-trade workers. Brenneis co-ordinates the police service's crime-free multi-housing program, designed to help property managers make good decisions about keeping apartment and condo buildings safe. [continues 421 words]
EDMONTON - Farmers are being warned to keep an eye on a fertilizer that may be stolen as an ingredient for crystal meth labs. The ingredient drug manufacturers are after is anhydrous ammonia, which is a source of nitrogen for grain fields and can be used in the chemical recipe for the potent drug. This form of speed is made from ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, which is found in diet pills and some cold medications, but it needs other chemicals to create the reaction to make the methamphetamine crystals. [continues 404 words]
EDMONTON -- The Harper government's promise of mandatory jail sentences for drug pushers is repugnant electioneering, says a group of criminal trial lawyers. The federal government knows through its own studies that mandatory minimum sentences don't work, Brian Hurley, president of the Edmonton Criminal Trial Lawyers Association, said Friday. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who unveiled plans Thursday for minimum sentences, is smart enough to know it, Hurley said. Harper announced his government will introduce legislation this fall to impose minimum jail terms for making and trafficking dangerous drugs, such as methamphetamines and cocaine. [continues 63 words]
Khat, a drug common in ethnic communities in Canada, is likely here in Fort McMurray, though not in the magnitude of eastern cities, say experts. A local chemist approached the police to complain of the drug's prevalence this summer, and he estimates that 50 per cent of the population of South Arabian and Somali residents use it here. Few others corroborate this view. The drug is a Schedule 4 national narcotic, which means it is not illegal to possess, but still carries the same penalties for trafficking as others, like cocaine or marijuana. But it is illegal to use it while driving. [continues 465 words]
Talks The Talk On Fighting The Fight And Cuts To The Chase About Putting Unlawful Business Out Of Business He isn't riding into town pretending to be some kind of mythical white knight or Western movie sheriff. No, Rick Hanson is a cop in a very real and often ugly world and he wants to get down to business. "I'm not saying I have all the answers but I'll do all I can do to fight the fight and we've got to fight like hell," says Rick, who was raised in Calgary, grew up attending St. Francis high and served with distinction in the city police for 30 years before going to the Mounties for a couple of turns of the calendar. [continues 892 words]
Believe it or not, it's been a whole year since a provincial task force tabled its report concerning crystal methamphetamine and not one of the 83 recommendations it contained has been implemented. Furthermore, rumblings from Premier Ed Stelmach's government about the report are not exactly encouraging. Asked why the recommendations haven't been implemented, Health Minister Dave Hancock said his government is taking a broader approach to drug addictions and focusing more on prevention. Alberta Health and Wellness spokesman Howard May said he doesn't know what the timetable is for rolling the report's 83 recommendations into a broader anti-drug strategy. [continues 790 words]
A booming economy and massive growth is bringing drug fueled big city problems to the Hat, but we maintain a small town approach, says Diane Purdy chair of the Medicine Hat Community Drug Council (MHCDC). "We have a major drug problem in Medicine Hat, and it's getting worse," added Purdy. "We think we will continue to be safe, but every day they (dealers) get better." Cocaine and crystal meth are devastating the community, said Purdy. We have crack houses in our neighbourhoods, drugs deteriorating our families and increased crime. [continues 418 words]
A Trip To Alberta And Buying A Friend A Guitar Makes For An Expensive Mess A Vancouver-area woman who sued Edmonton city police after claiming cops illegally seized nearly $90,000 in cash from her will get most of the money back. A provincial court judge approved Friday a deal in which Justice Canada will return $81,510 of the $89,010 seized and Nicole Gill will forfeit $7,500 to the federal Crown. Defence lawyer Lynn Rideout told court Gill maintains the money was lawfully hers, but said she had agreed to the forfeiture as a compromise to end the court battle. [continues 325 words]
A Vancouver-area woman who sued Edmonton city police after claiming cops illegally seized nearly $90,000 in cash from her will get most of the money back. A provincial court judge yesterday approved a deal in which Justice Canada will return $81,510 of the $89,010 seized and Nicole Gill will forfeit $7,500 to the federal Crown. Defence lawyer Lynn Rideout told court Gill maintains the money was lawfully hers, but said she had agreed to the forfeiture as a compromise to end the court battle. [continues 294 words]
Let's get something straight right off the bat: government-sanctioned safe-injection sites for needle drug users are creepy, sad and a sign of a society in serious trouble. That being said, Edmonton should have one. A few years ago, I argued that Vancouver's experiment with a medically supervised safe-injection site was a bad idea and that Capital Health, Streetworks and anyone else working with drug addicts should steer well clear of repeating the exercise here. As far as I was concerned, giving junkies a sanctuary in which to shoot up was tantamount to handing them a gun, a bullet and a blindfold - we would just be encouraging them to keep slowly killing themselves. [continues 541 words]
RE: "Cops ticket more than 3,000 speeders during blitz," Sept. 17.) Sincere and heartfelt congrats and kudos for the police who pull speeders and drunk drivers off the road. Sure beats wasting time and money busting pot-growers! Russell Barth (They're already blitzed.) [end]
Calgarians have their great white hope police chief in place and a law-and-order civic election on tap. A summer of discontent has candidates falling over themselves to look tough and the chief of the police union sensing a fertile environment to take down an incumbent alderman. Fear and anger are potent galvanizers, particularly when they're able to transcend reality and more complicated common sense. Sure, a surge in police officers can help improve optics at street level and even erode Calgarians' paranoia level -- to a degree and for a time. [continues 528 words]
No Rush To Provide Treatment For Local Meth Addicts One year after a government task force called for 300 new beds to help crystal-meth addicts, local parents still find themselves forced to send their kids out of province for drug treatment. While former health minister Iris Evans said last year the cost of not implementing the recommendations would be "far greater" than their $30-million price tag, the government now says it's no longer rushing to enact them. Instead, it's working on a broader strategy to deal with several different drugs, Alberta Health spokesman John Tuckwell said Thursday. [continues 271 words]
A highly regarded method for getting junkies off heroin is hardly being used in Canada, despite being approved by the federal government two years ago. Buprenorphine -- known by the brand name Subutex -- was given the green light by Health Canada in 2005, but its manufacturer, British-based Reckitt Benckiser, has not put it on the Canadian market. It's only available if a doctor applies to the feds for special access. That frustrates Marliss Howard, program director of Streetworks, which runs Edmonton's needle exchange program. [continues 166 words]
Inside Alberta
