JUSTICE 'SYSTEM' JUST A REVOLVING DOOR

Most criminals are dogged souls, not easily scared straight.

That's where recidivism comes in. And most of us have no idea just how
frequently the crooks among us are relapsing. In B.C. revolving-door crime
is so common the bad apples, cops and judges surely know each other on a
first-name basis.

The situation isn't better nationally. In a recently published book Con
Game: The Truth About Canada's Prisons, journalist Michael Harris reported
that recidivism rates are sky high.

That is, last year fewer than half of 7,715 offenders admitted to the
corrections system were first timers. Incredibly, some 4,500 of them were
making return engagements.

More specifically, the writer found, in 1999, 26 per cent of inmates on
full parole (after serving a third of a prison sentence) and 41 per cent on
statutory release (after serving two thirds of a sentence) were sent back
to prison that same year.

"The Canadian justice system is ineffective in dealing with repeat
offenders," observes Constable Gerry Wickstead.

The 40-year-old Vancouver community police officer takes a special interest
in recidivism because of what he sees around Hastings and Main -- his beat
for the last eight years.

He's fed up with what he considers a waste of resources in the way the
system deals with incorrigible offenders, particularly those who traffic in
and use illegal drugs.

Instead of filing addicted offenders in and out of the justice system, he
reasons, "public money should be wisely invested in drug treatment and job
skills training."

In those cases where it's clear that addiction prevents the individual from
exercising control over his life, "forced substance-abuse treatment and
consistent increased incarceration should be standard."

To prove his point, Wickstead points to a 2001 Vancouver police department
study of 70 Vancouver-area criminal offenders, each charged 10 or more
times, often for drug-related offences.

Each of the 70, over a period spanning the past few decades, averaged 77
charges, 52 convictions.

Each breached terms of their prison releases an average of 5.5 times.

Taxpayers spent $140,000 per person for imprisonment, nearly $10 million
for the 70. B.C. prison accommodation costs $140 a day, money that would be
better spent on treatment.

Wickstead notes in many cases those charged aren't held in custody long
enough to receive proper addiction counselling.

For example, only 21 per cent were sentenced to a month or more of
incarceration; fewer than five per cent were in custody for six months or
more. In other words, they went through a revolving door, with little
opportunity for rehab.

"Repeat offenders are not deterred by inconsistent sentencing in Canada's
criminal justice system," says Wickstead.

Take Criminal X -- he's one of the 70 repeat offenders in the study. He was
charged in Vancouver in March, 1999 for possession for the purpose of
trafficking, and for possessing a narcotic while on probation for drug
trafficking.

His rap sheet goes all the way back to 1973 when he was first charged with
narcotics possession.

Between 1973 and May, 2000 he was charged with: trafficking; theft under
$200; theft over $200; violating parole; possessing a stolen credit card;
using a stolen credit card; forgery; possessing forged documents; uttering
a forged document; possessing stolen property; false pretences over $200;
possessing a narcotic; failing to appear in court; robbery; escape from
lawful custody; break-and-enter theft; theft under $1,000 and drug
trafficking. In all, X was charged 217 times on 49 different occasions.

Even when this dude was given jail time, he was out faster than you can say
"lemme outta' here," taking advantage of the parole system, such as it is.

Here's how it worked in one instance: X was given two years in jail in June
1976 for narcotics trafficking, but was out on parole eight months later.
Six months after that, X was nabbed again by police.

Total cost to taxpayers for his jail time: $291,000. Would that cash have
been better spent trying to rehabilitate the guy?

Or, if he couldn't be rehabilitated, what was the point of continuing to
release him to commit new crimes over and over again?

Wickstead is part of the justice system and he can't figure it out why the
heck it works as it does. What are the rest of us to think?