COURT WATCH HOPES TO REDUCE CRIME

Volunteers to Monitor Repeat Offenders and Report

VANCOUVER - Mom and pop crime fighters in Vancouver are about to watch
how judges deal with chronic crime offenders.

A team of volunteers from the city's community policing centres is
setting up a Court Watch program, with the help of Vancouver police.

"The citizens of Vancouver are seriously concerned about property
crime," team leader Chris Taulu said yesterday.

"We know there's a small amount of chronic property criminals. I do
know there's chronic offenders on my street every day, and I want them
gone. If this helps them to be gone, that will be fine."

The team will draw up a list of at least 10 offenders who have each
racked up a dozen prior offences in the previous year.

The Court Watch volunteers will then attend all the court appearances
for the offenders, monitoring the judges' remarks and sentencing outcomes.

The information will be shared with police and the public, said
Taulu.

"We are fact-seekers only," she said. "We are engaging with no other
agenda than to know what the truth is."

Chief Const. Jamie Graham supports the program.

"They will track where these guys go," he said.

Ann Livingstone of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users said most
chronic offenders have breached bail conditions, usually for failing
to appear in court.

"We would be far better off buying people alarm clocks than putting
them in jail," she said.