TORIES CAN'T PINPOINT COST OF TOUGH-ON-CRIME PLANS

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day conceded yesterday that the
Conservative government cannot put a price tag on its ambitious
law-and-order agenda, which could mean building new prisons to put
more people in jail and keep them there longer.

Internal estimates, which government officials refuse to publicly
divulge, pegged the cost in the billions, depending on the number and
types of prisons and jails that would have to be built.

Mr. Day said estimates vary widely and they fail to take into account
the government's premise that longer prison sentences act as a
deterrent to crime.

They also don't consider the incalculable benefit reduced crime rates
have on citizens and their property, nor the cost of prosecuting the
same people over and over again, he said.

"A number of estimates have come in but they are sort of all over the
map," said Mr. Day. "It's difficult to try to predict, if there's
going to be an increase in capacity, we think there will some, we
think it will be minimal."

Mr. Day and Justice Minister Vic Toews have acknowledged that
fulfilling the Conservative election pledges could mean building new
facilities.

The federal prison system, which costs about $1 billion a year, is
operating at 94 per cent capacity.

Officials with Correctional Service Canada did a cost analysis during
the election campaign of the Conservative promises to overhaul the
system. The government will not release the estimates.

In an interview two months ago, Mr. Day said he asked officials to go
back to the drawing board and come up with revised projections that
takes into account the crime-deterrence factor.

This spring, the Conservatives will begin to roll out their
tough-on-crime initiatives. The first expected legislation would
impose new mandatory jail sentences for a variety of crimes related
to guns, drugs, and gangs and severely restrict "house arrest," that
allows offenders to serve sentences at home.

The Conservatives have promised automatic prison terms of up to 10
years, but Mr. Toews has acknowledged the minority government will
have to negotiate with the opposition parties in order to pass a bill.

The Liberals and NDP have called for increased prison terms as well,
but their proposals are significantly shorter than the Conservative plans.

The mandatory prison terms for drug trafficking alone could put
thousands more prisoners in the federal system, which currently
houses 12,400 prisoners.