ANTI-GANG LEGISLATION GETS FIRST TRIAL RUN IN MANITOBA CASE

Case Will See Warrior Members Tried Jointly, But Cost Of Program A Burden
On Courts

Winnipeg - The multimillion-dollar prosecution of several dozen
alleged Manitoba Warrior gang members has raised concerns that the
cost of bringing them to justice outweighs the benefits of keeping
them off the street.

Forty-two men, alleged members of the street gang, will be tried
jointly by direct indictment next fall under new federal anti-gang
legislation designed to cripple organized crime and the local cocaine
trade.

But the cost of the mass indictment includes $3.3-million to local
construction firms for transforming a once-abandoned suburban
warehouse into a new ultra-secure gang court, and an estimated
$8-million in Legal Aid bills.

And yesterday the Opposition NDP and Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs
warned that millions of taxpayer dollars may be squandered if Ottawa's
new and untested gang law is ultimately found to be unconstitutional
and the mass trial subsequently backfires.

Vic Toews, Manitoba's Justice Minister, insists no price can be
attached to public safety. "The irony here is that we don't really
have a choice," said Mr. Toews.

"We have to support the federal anti-gang legislation. I wouldn't say
what's motivating us here is the economics," Mr. Toews said. "But [the
prosecutions] certainly have an effect of making people feel safer on
the streets and in the community."

University of Manitoba criminologist Rick Linden said the high-profile
case raises important public-policy questions. "There's a real moral
dilemma for the government and there's no right answer," he said.

"I think if there was a certainty that this would shut down the gangs
and you asked the average Winnipegger if it was worth it they'd
happily fork over the extra $10 or $20 in tax dollars to watch this
thing unfold."

Mr. Linden said cost-benefit analysis is seldom undertaken as
politicians respond to the public's real or perceived fear of crime.
Nonetheless, he noted, crime does appear to pay: in some jurisdictions
the corrections industry has become a major growth sector fuelling the
local economy.

California, for example, spends $6-billion annually on a new prison
infrastructure to warehouse thousands of new convicts jailed under the
"three-strikes" law.

"Fear of crime absolutely has spinoffs for the economy -- just ask the
alarm companies," said Mr. Linden. But he argued government
expenditure on suppressing crime should also be balanced by spending
on crime prevention.

Mr. Toews said the $3.3-million courthouse expense can be justified if
this and subsequent mass prosecutions of gang-related crime restore
Winnipeg's public image as a safe and progressive place to live.
Further, if government is seen to be aggressive in its efforts to
combat organized crime, this is a virtue to which no price can be attached.

He said Manitoba has been spending more on gang-related prevention and
intervention, but dollars must also be spent on suppression. "Whether
it's society's fault or genetics or individual responsibility . . .
there are some people who will only respond to prosecution," he said.

Police and justice officials call the mass prosecution a "landmark"
case for Canada.

The 42 men were arrested last November, capping a year-long joint
police operation, dubbed Northern Snow.

THE PENALTIES

Under the 1997 law, an offender is sentenced both for the crime and
for participating in organized-crime activity. The sentences are
served consecutively.

The law applies to "any or all of the members of which engage in or
have, within the preceding five years, engaged in the commission of a
series of such offences." An accused found guilty of participating in
a criminal organization could receive a maximum of 14 years in prison.
Participation in a criminal organization would involve the commission
of or conspiracy to commit any offence "for the benefit of, at the
direction of or in association with a criminal organization, for which
the maximum punishment is imprisonment for five years or more."