ONE JUNKIE IN JAIL LEAVES 4,000 CITIZENS CRIME-FREE

But Short Prison Terms Mean Residents at Risk

Each year an estimated 4,000 Greater Vancouver citizens become victims
of his crack cocaine-stoked break-ins and thefts.

Put another way, if a lower court judge had put the guy out of
commission for just 12 months, 4,000 law-abiding residents would still
have their personal property worth $1 million and their peace of mind.

But Vancouver's provincial sentencing judges are wimps. A yearlong
stint in prison?

Try two months max, according to a mind-boggling report on the city's
busiest crooks released this week by top cop Jim Chu, who says it
seems the longer the guy's rap sheet, the shorter his sentence.

"These offenders are not being held in custody for periods of time
representative of the level of harm they present to the community,"
the report by his staff noted.

And all along we thought they were throwing the book at career
criminals with lengthy rap sheets.

The gutsy chief of police took it upon himself to warn our judges to
get serious about purging Vancouver streets of 379 prolific offenders
who need to pull dozens of break-ins and thefts every week to bankroll
their highs, or B.C. citizens will continue to be sitting ducks for
their ceaseless crime binges.

Day-or week-long prison stays for prolific criminals aren't long
enough to safeguard the public nor do they offer addiction treatment
opportunities to any who might wish to break the cycle, the VPD
research and audit section states in the study.

These guys aren't likely to mature out of crime any time soon,
either.

Officers found Vancouver's brand of incorrigible offender -- who
averages 39 convictions with 25 per cent of them boasting 54 or more
- -- was unique in that addiction steers his criminal activity, meaning
he'll still be pulling jobs well after his 30th birthday, unlike
fellow criminals elsewhere.

They said 70 per cent of the city's crop of worst offenders are at
least 30 while the rest are 40 or older. Most are experts at breaching
probation and ignoring court orders.

"It is the length of their careers as well as the frequency of their
offending that impacts society," the 44-page analysis concluded.

The recommendations VPD puts forward are noteworthy: They want
offenders with more than 30 convictions locked away long enough to
protect the public from future offending as well as to give these guys
a crack at treatment either in a provincial or federal pen --
currently, such programs exist only in federal institutions where
inmates serve two years or more.

The report says officers, too, need to work harder at arming Crown
with extensive details about a repeat offender so they are able to
fully educate a bail or sentencing judge. They're also urged to lobby
Crown to appeal the weaker sentences.

Last, but not least, the report calls on government to provide both
levels of corrections facilities with enough funding and resources to
set up mandatory programs and treatment for all offenders.

I'd be in favour of seeing my taxes finance these initiatives.

Seems a more effective use of tax dollars than to support an injection
site where thieves inject drugs into their veins, having peddled
electronics stolen from a neighbour or shop, while medical staff stand
by to ensure the crap doesn't kill them in the short term, even though
we all know it still will in the long term.