NEW CRIME LAWS LOOK TOOTHLESS

Few Charges Under Gang, Crystal Meth Legislation

A host of crime-fighting laws passed by the provincial NDP government
over the last several years have spawned virtually no charges,
leading some to call the laws little more than "window dressing."

Much-touted new rules to shut down would-be crystal meth labs, seize
gang clubhouses and suspend the driver's licences of "johns" have
never been used by police or prosecutors, according to data provided
by Manitoba Justice.

But Justice Minister Dave Chomiak said those statistics don't reveal
the province's multi-pronged approach to fighting organized crime and
all its spinoffs. That includes new investigative units, more funding
for police officers, co-operation with other provinces on gang cases
and early-intervention programs to keep kids out of crime.

Local criminal lawyer Jay Prober was troubled by some of the
anti-gang laws when they were announced, and said he wasn't shocked
to learn they hadn't yet resulted in real action.

"There was a lot of fanfare at the beginning but I'm not surprised
they haven't been used," said Prober. "They're making rules that are
little more than window dressing for political purposes."

The data show that provincial investigators have yet to shut down any
homes harbouring the ingredients to make crystal meth, even though
they won the power to do so nearly a year ago.

Last March, the province tweaked the Safer Communities and
Neighbourhoods Act to allow investigators to evict homeowners or
tenants if they're found to have the gear needed to set up a
marijuana grow op or a meth lab.

That's in addition to the act's powers to board up known drug or
prostitution houses.

Roughly 205 houses have been shut down under the act for drugs and
prostitution -- a fact the province touted in a press release
yesterday -- but none because the owners were hoarding the
ingredients to make meth, even though Winnipeg police have declared
meth a looming problem.

Chomiak and police officers say the act was more of a proactive
measure to prepare police for a full-blown meth epidemic.

Meanwhile, no action has ever been taken under the Criminal
Properties Forfeiture Act, which came into force two years ago. It
allows police to seize property -- cars, houses, cash -- belonging to
known gang members.

But to date no property has been seized, including the known Hells
Angel clubhouse on Scotia Street, which continues to operate.

Winnipeg police Supt. Gord Schumacher said police welcome any tools
the province provides to fight crime. But he acknowledged that some
laws work better than others, and the forfeiture act is one that may
need more teeth.

"Some (laws) work, and some, the wheels spin a little more," said Schumacher.

Chomiak said the forfeiture act is being rejigged to take the burden
of time-consuming surveillance and evidence-gathering off police.
That might mean the creation of a new special unit of provincial investigators.

He said the forfeiture law is also hamstrung by a quirk of the
federal Criminal Code, which doesn't include a list of known gangs on
which the courts can rely. That means prosecutors must expend huge
resources convincing a judge that groups such as the Hells Angels are
indeed organized crime syndicates.

A four-year-old law banning gang insignia or 'colours' in bars also
hasn't resulted in any new charges after the province dropped the
first and only batch last summer.

Last June, Crown prosecutors decided to abandon a case against six
Hells Angels charged under those new provisions of the Liquor Control Act.

Chomiak said the anti-colours act is also tough to enforce until
Ottawa amends the Criminal Code to make it clear what groups count as
organized crime.

Prober said some of the laws that allow for the seizure of property
might violate the constitutional rights of suspects, though that
hasn't been tested in court because so few people have been charged.