FISHING FOR A JUSTICE SYSTEM

If you are a defence lawyer in Smithers forget about trying to work
out a sweetheart plea bargain deal for your drug trafficking client --
let the judge do it for you.

After three years of grinding its way through what is loosely called
our justice system, a 24-year-old Prince George woman was found guilty
of trafficking crystal meth.

Charissa Scarrow was charged in Telkwa on Oct. 9, 2003 and on June 29,
2006, Smithers judge John Milne handed down the sentence.

Federal crown attorney Rick Wozny asked for a 12-month conditional
sentence, also known as house arrest, as well as, 12 months probation.

Defence attorney Terry Hudson pleaded with Judge Milne for half that,
six months conditional and six months probation.

In passing down his sentence, Judge Milne said he was taking into
consideration the damage crystal meth was doing to the community and
also to send a message.

"There has to be a sentence that indicates to you and others that
trafficking methamphetamines will be dealt with harshly by the
courts," he said.

Given the crown's request for 12 months house arrest and 12 months
probation, and the defence's hope for six and six, Milne sent his message:

Milne sentenced Scarrow to just four months conditional and no
probation.

Milne trumped even the defence's best hopes and did send a clear
message: the revolving doors of Smithers courthouse continue to circle
at a dizzying pace.

The other message: Sell crystal meth in the Bulkley Valley and you
will be grounded for a few months -- that's about it.

Scarrow will serve her four-month sentence under house arrest with
certain exceptions: She can go to work, go shopping, go to counselling
and organized religious activities.

At Smithers Mayor Jim Davidson's inauguration, he called for the
formation of a Court Watch program to be set up similar to one
currently being successfully run in Maple Ridge.

The purpose of Court Watch is not to reduce crime specifically, but to
document the outcomes of court cases such as this one, with the hope
that a passive, objective civilian oversight may induce some
accountability into our justice system.

Unfortunately, while many in Smithers holler and cry about the
burgeoning rate of petty crime, Davidson's Court Watch program never
really got off the ground.

In the meantime, overworked Smithers cops are running down criminal
after criminal only to see them back on the streets a short time later.

Locking 'em up and throwing away the key isn't the answer either, but
if Smithers is going to get a handle on its crime problem, people need
to get involved and there needs to be a better message than the one
Judge Milne handed down last week:

In Smithers, the justice system is like fishing the Bulkley River for
our prized steelhead.

It's all catch and release.