DEALING WITH GANG VIOLENCE

In the past two weeks, bullets have been flying on the streets and
mall parking lots of Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford, Coquitlam and Vancouver.

The Lower Mainland has become a war zone-a disorganized orgy of
violence between gangs and their bit-player members, fighting for
control of the drug trade, exacting revenge for earlier hits, and
carrying out retribution for crossed loyalties, broken deals, and
threats and insults, perceived or real.

The fact that innocent citizens have not been directly gunned down,
or struck by stray rounds, is nothing short of a miracle. And while
the police are doing whatever is within their legally restricted
powers to do, the response of government at the provincial and
federal level has been anemic.

For instance, this week the attorney general trotted out a recent
study that found B.C.'s courts are not the softest in Canada.

The entire nation needs to be far tougher on these morally vacant
thugs who care nothing for anyone but themselves.

And that means public safety being the primary consideration of bail
hearings. It means severe punishment for gun crimes. It means no plea
bargaining for reduced charges. It means no probation and early
parole on sentences.

And it also means a focused examination and debate on ending the
massively expensive and ineffective war on drugs-particularly
marijuana. Prohibition is not working. It merely fuels the insanely
profitable illicit drug trade, and creates the bloody havoc being
wrought on our streets. It's time politicians came to grips with this
stark reality, and started talking seriously about progressive solutions.

The criminal justice system can be made as tight as possible -and it
should be-but it will not solve crime associated with drugs. Now
let's start dealing with that fact.