POSTER BOY FOR JUSTICE REFORM

I thought I was the best driver in the world. I didn't think I would
hurt anyone. Now drug-free, I am able to see that only pure luck
prevented the loss of innocent lives. I am extremely thankful nobody
was injured."

So admitted former Surrey car thief Robert Osborne, in an e-mail to
The Leader this week.

The notorious young man has written an 80,000-word biography,
tentatively titled "Oncoming," detailing his former life of crime,
fuelled by an addiction to methamphetamine.

Soon to be released from prison to a halfway house, Osborne vows he is
free from the ravaging clutches of meth, motivated by the death of his
mother who was found dead last year. She too was addicted to drugs.

Osborne was charged with 123 criminal offences between 1997 and 2004,
the year he was jailed on multiple charges.

At the time of his arrest, Osborne was the subject of 15 arrest
warrants for auto theft and speeding. He had made Surrey's
10-most-wanted list two years in a row.

It cannot be more clear.

Robert Osborne is a poster boy for the failure of the criminal justice
system in dealing with the drug addiction that is directly related to
the vast majority of car thefts, break-ins and other property crimes.

Osborne was not "cured" of his drug dependency by multiple arrests and
court sentences.

It was Osborne himself who eventually chose to cast off the chemical
yoke that was destroying him.

Whether he is ultimately successful in that is yet to be seen. He says
he would like to visit schools to deliver his message about the
dangers of meth, and perhaps become a counsellor to help others deal
with the brutal struggle.

Meanwhile, justice officials and politicians should pay heed to his
words and his example.

Prison terms without enforced drug addiction programs and consistent
follow-up support and services are no more than "time-outs" for criminals.

The threat of further incarceration is rarely sufficient motivation
for drug-addicted individuals to change their lives once they are
dumped back on the streets.

Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts, recently back from a tour of Britain to see
its progressive crime reduction strategies, has been promoting the
concept of community courts accompanied by mandatory drug
rehabilitation programs.

She is on the right track, and deserves the full support of her
provincial and federal counterparts, and Surrey citizens.

There are many more Robert Osbornes out there who have yet to regain
control of their lives.

Without some tough help, they most likely never will.