POLICE TO GET MORE FREEDOM TO BREAK THE LAW

'Small' violations often 'essential' to undercover investigations

A federal white paper says undercover police officers should be allowed to
break the law in pursuit of people smugglers, drug traffickers, mobsters and
other criminals.

The white paper, tabled yesterday in the Senate by Justice Minister Anne
McLellan and Solicitor General Lawrence MacAulay, includes draft legislation
that the government expects to finalize this fall.

That legislation offers limited immunity to officers who perform illegal
acts -- like selling sex --in the course of legitimate police probes.

Federal drug laws now give officers the right to buy and sell narcotics
during undercover operations. But the police are not protected from
prosecution when they break other criminal laws in the course of
investigations unrelated to drugs.

The police have maintained that technical breaches of the law are often
necessary to gain the confidence of suspects and to infiltrate crime rings.

"In today's world it is essential to provide police officers with the tools
they need to combat local, national and global crime and protect Canadian
interests," Mr. MacAulay said in a news release.

Justice officials, however, stressed yesterday that the draft legislation
would not put police officers above the law. Some acts --like murder,
assault causing bodily harm or sexual offences --would not be permissible
police behaviour under any circumstances.

And while officers will be allowed to commit "small" illegal acts, like
buying counterfeit money, without prior approval, more serious legal
infractions committed in the name of law enforcement would require the
approval of a senior police officer. That officer must be convinced the
illegal act is reasonable as compared to the offence under investigation.

The legislation would apply equally to police officers and public officials
who enforce environmental, immigration and customs laws.

The legislation is the government's response to a Supreme Court of Canada
ruling last year that said it is up to Parliament -- not police forces --to
define the circumstances in which it is acceptable to use sting operations
and undercover techniques that temporarily put them on the wrong side of the
law.

In making its unanimous ruling, the court ordered a new trial for two
Ontario men convicted of drug trafficking. The men had agreed to buy 50
kilograms of hashish from undercover RCMP officers who had launched what was
described as a "reverse sting"operation.

Lawyers for John Campbell and Salvatore Shirose said their clients would not
have purchased the drugs had the police not sought them out as buyers.

(After the Supreme Court sent their case back to trial, Mr. Shirose and Mr.
Campbell pleaded guilty to the drug charges; they will sentenced later this
year).

After the ruling, police forces across Canada suspended investigations
because of concerns that their officers were no longer immune from
prosecution for offences committed in the name of law enforcement.

The RCMP issued a directive to its investigators to refrain from using
reverse stings except in drug cases. The federal white paper says
investigations into people smuggling, hate crimes, gun trafficking and
terrorism were adversely affected.

Spokeswoman Stephanie Richardson said the RCMP has worked closely with
justice officials on the new legislation. "We think this will help law
enforcement efforts and we're hopeful it will reinstate a tool that we can
use to fight organized crime," Ms. Richardson said.

But some defence lawyers and civil libertarians are worried by the new
police powers.

"This legislation, if I'm right, will give the police the ability to break
the law in pursuit of relatively low-level crimes," said Toronto lawyer
Irwin Koziebrocki, who argued the Campbell and Shirose case in the Supreme
Court.

It doesn't make sense, Mr. Koziebrocki added, to leave decisions about
police practices in the hands of senior police officers. "Right now, to get
a wiretap, you have to jump through all kinds of hoops. ... But here, if you
want to pull a robbery, all you have to do is call your desk sergeant."

Alan Borovoy, of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, said the federal
government needs to explain why the new legislation is necessary.

"I don't understand the premise for the whole thing," he says.

The Liberal government is expected to introduce a formal bill into the House
of Commons this fall after consulting over the summer with police
associations, lawyers and the public.