thoughts on the crime bill

a new comic for you.

I know y’all be thinking of the upcoming provincial election and I don’t mean to distract you. But this is important; do you remember all that talk during the Federal election about a massive omnibus crime bill proposed by the Conservatives? Well this past Tuesday, the Conservatives dropped the third piece of legislation in their “omnibus”.

Before all this was in the news, I thought “Omnibus” was an East German Volkswagen knock-off.

So what’s changed in the “Crime Landscape” since last May? Lots. I have taken some excerpts from a CBC article that outlined the changes, I have added my thoughts below in red.

Mandatory minimums: a range of drug, sex, violent and other serious offences will now have longer stipulated jail sentences, leading to questions about dramatic increases in the costs of incarceration for both federal and provincial prisons.

            Justice needs to be conducted on a case-by-case basis. Mandatory minimums (key word = mandatory) are not what we need. I agree mandatory minimums may be helpful for some violent and sex crimes, but mandatory minimums for growing 6 pot plants are going to put people in jail that shouldn’t be there. This part of the Bill doesn’t even consider popular opinion regarding certain drug crimes. I think the federal government should hold a referendum on this issue just to prove me correct.

Tougher penalties for drug offences, including a potential doubling of sentences for the production of drugs such as marijuana, to target the role of organized crime in the production and possession of illicit drugs and to crack down on marijuana grow-ops.

            I sort of touched on this above. This approach is misguided. The limit set for a mandatory minimum is 6 plants. If you want to target organized crime, set the limit at 2000. Give mandatory minimums to people who keep guns beside their stash. Don’t send the local mom and pop grow shop, college kids, and medicinal users (that failed to jump through the paperwork to get their MMAR license) to jail.

Tougher penalties for sexual offences against children, and the creation of two new offences related to the planning or enabling of sex assaults against children.

            I don’t know the particulars of this, but I agree with the statement as it stands. There is no excuse for hurting children.

Long-gun registry Ended

            I agree with the Conservatives ending the long-gun registry. I agree with the “idea” of registering all guns, but not if it costs a billion dollars. Besides, who commits crimes with long-guns nowadays? This isn’t 1912. Today’s criminals pack semi-automatic handguns.

More power for police to conduct internet surveillance (known as "lawful access") — a controversial step that would compel Web service providers to hand over information even without a search warrant has been feared by internet experts. But the government said Wednesday it has no plans for such measures. "Outrageous claims like that one, that private communications will be intercepted without a warrant, is a complete fabrication," said Public Safety Minister Vic Toews Wednesday, responding to a question from the NDP.

            In other words, don’t post stupid shit on Facebook. Don’t plan crimes over email. Don't wire money to terrorists. 

Mandatory jail time for repeat offences in trafficking contraband tobacco and a new RCMP anti-contraband force.

            This just sends an already marginalized group to jail for something trivial. Don’t quote me on this, but I’m pretty sure the people couriering cigarettes across the St. Lawrence are poor native groups being exploited by people higher up in the gang chain. 1 out of 3 cigarettes enjoyed by Ontario are “illegal”. Is the government targeting the right people? Big tobacco gets paid either way.

Stiffer sentences for violent and repeat young offenders for serious crimes, to protect the public from "out of control" young offenders

            I get the whole “stiffer sentences for repeat violent offenders”. I don’t get the “out of control youth” part. Where does one draw the line between bad kids and bad parents? The law should punish people who fornicate, have children, and can’t take care of them. How can we punish youth crimes, when a youth’s entire environment may have been filled with violence? Instead of punishing young offenders more harshly, we should save ourselves the legal fees. Let’s plant a garden in every school, and give every child a free, hot, and nutritious meal for lunch.

I took the italicized part from an article by CBC. It can be found here. I only covered a brief portion of the legislation that was passed. And I didn’t look very deep to find the particulars. I think the government should get “tough on crime”, but I think they should do it by getting “soft on people”. Take a more proactive approach and stop crime before it happens. The Netherlands is literally closing jails because they don’t have enough prisoners. They are importing prisoners from Belgium in order to pay for the Jail’s hydro bills. Aside from the recent massacre, Norway  typically experiences 50 murders a year. Norway has a population of 5 million, which makes about 1 murder for every 100,000 people. Canada and the US do not even come close to the this number, so how can we get “tough” on crime, when we are perpetuating a system that creates criminals by definition?