COMMUNITY COURTS BACKED

Under new system, the public would help deal with street criminals

VANCOUVER - B.C.'s chief judges want to create a new community court
that would get the public involved in punishing and rehabilitating
chronic repeat offenders of property crime, many of whom suffer from
drug addiction and mental health problems.

Chief Justice Donald Brenner of the B.C. Supreme Court and provincial
court chief Judge Hugh Stansfield say the idea is the result of a
major task force involving government, health professionals and the
courts.

"We recognize that there is a growing problem with street crime,
particularly within urban centres," Brenner told a news conference in
Vancouver on Wednesday.

A relatively small number of chronic offenders are responsible for the
majority of property crime, putting significant demand on the criminal
justice system, Brenner said.

Stansfield visited Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York City, where
community courts are taking credit for a drop in street crime.

He said they impose a broad range of responses -- everything from jail
sentences to rehabilitation or a combination with an emphasis on
repaying the community for harm done.

"The idea is that justice is swift. If someone pleads guilty to a drug
crime, they are sent that day to be assessed for a rehab program.

"They don't leave the building, the service is in the same building as
the court."

If offenders are sentenced to community service, it also starts that
day and the assignment could be chosen by a board of local residents.

Stansfield and Brenner say the revolutionary approach won't work
without funding from government for treatment programs.

The goal is to have a stand alone court operating by January 2007. The
building would house a myriad of social services to deal with drug
addicted mentally ill criminals.

Attorney-General Wally Oppal supports the idea and so does the
premier.

"Really, it's the only rational thing as a community that we can do.
We as a community have to get involved in all of this. I'm hopeful
we'll carry on with the recommendation," Oppal told a news conference
Wednesday.

He said it would be premature to say how much such an initiative would
cost, or how much the government would be willing to contribute.

He said numbers might be available before the end of the
year.

The idea for a community court came from the B.C. justice review
committee, which has conducted extensive consultations and studies on
street crime since March 2004.

The committee is specifically recommending a stronger relationship be
forged between Vancouver Coastal Health and the justice system,
recognizing most chronic repeat property criminals are drug addicted
or mentally ill.

It also wants a stronger connection between the public and the
criminal justice system. That could happen through the creation of a
Community Justice Advisory Board and annual street crime plan.

Concerns that there is a lack of co-ordination among social service
providers in downtown Vancouver have to be addressed, said the report.

It calls for an examination of what services are available and whether
they're being efficiently used.

Brenner said the goal is to stop this group of drug-addicted,
mentally-ill petty thieves from tying up the court system, a one-size
fits all system that hasn't worked to rehabilitate them.

Treating them could require a massive investment in programs, the
judges admitted.

The committee said addiction and mental illness are often contributing
factors to street crime, and homeless contributes to visible disorder.

"There are over 9,000 injection drug users in the Vancouver area," the
report said, "and over 11,000 mental health patients. Between 35 and
40 offenders with symptoms of mental illness appear in provincial
court in Vancouver each day.

"Existing health and justice system responses are poorly coordinated,
and as such, often ineffective. This is a source of frustration for
the public, and also for the professionals who deal with the offenders."

Brenner said he hopes a community court that involves local residents
and offers swift remedies would restore some public confidence in the
justice system.