PRINCE GEORGE LAWYER ANALYZES CAUSES OF RISING GANG VIOLENCE

WHO Is To Blame For The Failure Of The Criminal Justice System?

During the last few weeks we have witnessed a growing number of drug
related murders in the lower mainland. Although we have not seen as
many of these incidents in our northern capital, we have seen enough
to know that our criminal justice system is falling apart. In fact,
the recent spate of murders in the lower mainland is only the tip of
the iceberg when one considers all the other criminal activities
which occur on a daily basis on our streets.

The growing tide of violent criminal activity throughout our province
has spawned a great deal of political rhetoric regarding the need for
solutions. Just yesterday, in fact, we heard from the federal
minister of public safety. Unfortunately, he seemed more interested
on blaming opposition politicians for stalling necessary justice
reforms rather than proactive and meaningful dialogue. He is not the
only one guilty of this, however. Politicians at every level are
spending a great dealing of time these days talking about the failure
of our criminal justice system. They have all sorts of ideas for us
to consider. They tell us that that we need to end two-for-one credit
for those on remand waiting for trial. They also say we need stiffer
penalties for violent offences, bail reforms to keep violent
offenders off the streets and a greater range of minimum sentences.
Some even go so far as to question the motives and actions of crown
lawyers and members of the judiciary.

According to some, the crown counsel and judiciary are far too easy
on criminals and refuse to punish the offender appropriately.

Although some of what is being proposed may have merit, the vast
majority of the rhetoric we are hearing is nothing but than a clever
game of political obsfucation--smoke and mirrors if you will. Our
politicians are raising their collective voice in protest and
disgust--even pointing the blame at others--in order to keep us from
seeing the real cause for this growing failure--the failure of
governments at all levels to properly fund the justice system and its
various components.

Take policing for example. Prince George currently contracts with the
RCMP to provide policing in the city. There are many people who think
that the RCMP is not doing enough to stop violent crime in our city.
In fact, the RCMP works very hard to accomplish its mandate in our city.

But in order to effectively handle the growing drug trade downtown
and various other criminal problems in our city, police officials
have said time and time again that they need further manpower and
resources. In other words, unless we pay for it, the RCMP is telling
us that they are powerless to do more for us. We are never told this
and very little money is ever spent to rectify the situation.

Consider also the situation faced by those lawyers who serve as Crown
Counsel. Currently private bar lawyers are paid two or three times
more than what the Attorney General pays crown lawyers. As a result,
qualified candidates are discouraged from working for the public
benefit because they are paid more working for themselves. In fact, I
know of several very capable lawyers, colleagues of mine, who have
decided not to work for Crown for this very reason. Perhaps our
politicians should explain to us why is it that these public servants
who serve such an important role in our criminal justice system are
so profoundly underpaid by their government overseers.

In addition, why is it that almost every crown office I have had the
opportunity to work with is perpetually short staffed, some by 2 or 3
or even 4 bodies? Again, the answer is quite simple but never told.
Our Attorney General refuses to pay to fully staff the offices which
have been created to protect the public from the criminal elements
surrounding it. As a result of this lack of funding, all to often
decisions are made to "cut a deal" or drop a charge or two. Put
simply, on a daily basis Crown counsel must decide what crimes are
worth prosecuting and what crimes are not. In my own experience, far
too many cases fall by the wayside not because there is no evidence
but because there is not enough manpower to prosecute.

Finally, we should examine the situation now faced by the judiciary.
For a long time now, Prince George has been woefully understaffed. We
have only one Supreme Court justice who sits in our region. As a
result, we now see criminal and civil cases being cancelled because
there is no justice available or willing to travel from the lower
mainland to hear the case. Who is to blame for this? To answer this,
we need to remember that Supreme Court justices are appointed by the
federal government.

The problem is even worse at the provincial court level where most
criminal justice matters are heard and decided. Again we are short
judges. When judges retire in Prince George, their positions are not
filled and if they are filled, it takes years. As a result, we are
seeing more and more cases dismissed for unreasonable delay. Usually
the cases which are dropped are the non-violent cases such as
impaired driving. But then why should judges be forced to decide
whether an impaired driving case should be stayed because other more
violent cases require their immediate attention?

The inordinate delays which are now developping in our court
processes are clearly not the fault of our judges. In fact, I have
seen many of them work overtime just to get their job done. I doubt
any of them are paid a cent for this extra work.

Again, we may want to ask who is to blame. The responsibility for the
appointment of Provincial court judges lays with our Attorney
General, a former judge himself. In other words, the blame for the
lack of judicial resources is with our government officials who we
elected to serve our interests in the first place.

In fact, all the other various players involved in the criminal
justice system, the police officers, lawyers and judges do their jobs
very well. They spend many hours to make things work. But the simple
fact is that they cannot do everything we want them to do if those
who govern them not prepared to fund them appropriately.

Interestingly, we never hear any of our local, provincial or federal
politicians talk about any of this. Instead, they cleverly avoid the
subject when it comes up because they know it means that they must
admit that they are the ones to blame for the situation.

In sum, while I welcome the ongoing dialogue regarding the function
or dysfunction of the criminal justice system, I think it is time
that we consider real solutions to the problem rather than fictional
solutions proposed by those in the political realm. In my view, if we
truly want to solve the criminal justice problem, we need to spend
the money necessary to solve it. The other proposed reforms may or
may not have some effect, but until we provide the resources required
to implement the reforms proposed, it should come as no surprize to
anyone that the criminal problem will simply continue to grow.