Barry Artiste Op/Ed
As I previously mentioned in my other story today on Child prostitution in Canada http://www.nowpublic.com/world/child-prostitution-exposing-canadas-dirty-dark-secret
All Political Parties seem to have their own ideas on how to handle Crime and Punishment if their parties Leader is elected Prime Minister.
Certainly every political parties stance on Crime is an eye opener, when some political parties state they will flood Police Forces with Cash to fight Crime, a nice idea, but more importantly it seems these political parties miss the point entirely. Police arresting Criminals, most likely will see these same criminals out on bail before the Officers complete all the paperwork.
What political parties need is to be tough on Crime, ensure victims and future victims of crimes are made safe in our lawless society and give Judges that much needed “Slap upside the Head” and inform them to do the job taxpayers pay them to do.
Judges need to Jail em and make sure they do not see the light of day until their release date.
If Judges cannot do it, then they need to be fired immediately, as our laws have long stated what penalties are to be implemented.
Currently many criminals in Canada with over 100 convictions with little jail time served are still walking our streets. This is especially true in British Columbia, touted as the Worlds Criminal Superpower, by one of Canada’s National magazines “MacCleans”.
Surely that must be a message of the seriousness of the crime situation in this country and courts revolving door justice which ties that bind police forces country wide.
Why arrest em, if we have courts and judges reluctant to jail em? Politicians stating We need to “Ban Handguns, Automatic Weapons” is as Ludicrous as Judges rendering useless sentencing.
All these laws stating the above are and or have been in force for decades.
Politicians Rehashing old crap is useless, Crime and Punishment with severe jail time, much like Handguns and Automatic Weapons have been banned and on the Law Books for decades, to reiterate this point for political gain is stupid to say the least, since we already have a Billion Dollar Liberal implemented Gun Registry in which Liberal think Criminals will march up to the Gun Registry and register their Guns.
What Political Parties need to state, is that they will Inform Judges and Courts to either follow the letter of the law of this land, or get fired, Period! No legal misinterpretations, no double credit for time served while awaiting trial sitting at home. No early parole.
Our Countrys’ Laws much like a cookbook recipe leave little room for interpretation or modification if you wish to serve to the public what the legal recipe calls for. Otherwise why have laws on the books if no one follows them, because it looks like Judges and criminals alike don’t follow them.
On election day, we will certainly see who acts when elected, and the votes will speak what action they must take. I am going Conservative, no surprise there.
http://www.ottawasun.com/canadavotes/news/2008/09/28/6906421-sun.html
No time for crime?
As politicians unveil their plans to battle violence across our country, it seems many voters aren’t as worried about it as they once were — or maybe we’ve just learned to tune out the mayhem
By THANE BURNETT, NATIONAL BUREAU
All the spilled blood doesn’t seem to dull the spirits of diners around the crime scene. While pressure is applied to a yawning wound on a young man’s arm — a paramedic wraps bandages and police take statements — customers at the other tables around the restaurant’s outdoor patio in downtown Toronto allow bottles of wine to breathe easy and conversations are as warm as the night.
Sgt. Craig Somers of Toronto Police’s 51 Division, overseeing the scene where a group of teenagers sliced the victim with a suspected ice pick, is asked by staff whether they can wipe down the bloody table for the next sitting.
It’s like a dinner show that everyone, except the players, have lost interest in. We may not be comfortable with crime near to us, but sudden eruptions of mayhem are so expected that it seems Canadians have learned to tune out the sirens and leave it to others to deal with the messy cleanup.
This past week, although many voters aren’t fretting over crime issues as they were during the last election, the major federal parties have pulled out promises to keep you safer.
But Carolyn Gardner worries the election may have interrupted needed change. Last April, Gardner and other victims of crime met with Stockwell Day, the Minister of Public Safety, and presented a petition calling for a change so murderers would only have a chance for a parole hearing every five years, rather than the current two.
She hopes they don’t have to begin their campaign again because, for them, the clock is ticking. In 1981, Ralph Ernest Power — a 28-year-old out on the equivalent of statutory release after a previous attack on a woman — tricked his way into Carolyn’s older sister’s apartment.
An aspiring Toronto model, Sheryl Gardner was hit with a hammer. When she began to convulse, Power struck her 15 more times. “It was such waste of a beautiful lady … I only wanted to borrow her for awhile,” the killer told the jury during his trial.
CONSERVATIVE Crime and Punishment:
– An overhaul of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
– Giving judges the option to impose life sentences for those 14 years and older convicted of first – or second-degree murder.
– Maximum youth sentences for other serious violent crimes would be stiffened.
– Offenders 14 and older convicted of murder or other violent crimes could be named publicly.
– Crackdown on the use of conditional sentences — house arrest — for 30 more serious crimes.
LIBERAL
– A $75-million Communities at Risk program to fund security at ethno-cultural or religious places of worship or schools.
– An $80 million fund to assist police agencies with combating organized crime and gangs.
– Funding to help youth at risk avoid violence.
– New legislation to crack down on Internet luring and cyber-bulling.
– Ban military assault rifles.
– Measures to combat the “root” causes of crime, such as rehabilitation and poverty.
– Retain the federal firearms registry.
NDP
– 2,500 more police officers on the streets.
– Re-classifying auto theft as a violent offence.
– Allow first-degree murder charges for gang-related homicides.
– Give provinces and cities the ability to implement an absolute ban on handguns.
– Invest $25 million over four years to strengthen witness protection and $50 million a year for crime prevention.
BLOC QUEBECOIS
– Focus on armed street gangs, organized crime and drug dealers. Gang symbols would be made illegal and special training would be provided for street-gang prosecutors.
Bloc would also end early parole for drug dealers.
GREEN PARTY OF CANADA
– Legalize and tax marijuana.
– Look at ways of tackling root causes of crime, rather than punishment.
– Ways for the guilty to make reparations to their victims.
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Great political insight from North of the Border…tough on crime…I like it.
John