Close-Up:

ADDRESSING ROOT CAUSES OF CRIME

Most people would agree we'd like to walk down the street and not
fear being targeted by a criminal. But just how to achieve--and
maintain--safe streets in the midst of a decade-long decline in crime
in this country is something that each major political party is
approaching differently.

Green Party candidate Alice Hooper says her party wants to look at
the "big picture" when dealing with issues of crime and also shift
the focus of police and justice resources.

While criminals should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law
and the Greens advocate greater resources for such things as
securities crime investigations and prosecuting white collar
criminals, the judicial system is getting plugged up by young
offenders caught smoking pot, she said.

As a result, those charged with more serious offences are benefiting
from court delays, Hooper says.

The party believes drug addiction should be treated as a health
problem, not a criminal issue, and also believes in the legalization
of marijuana.

Legalization would allow policing resources to be focused on other
issues and would put an estimated $2 billion annually into the
federal coffers, Hooper said.

As well, it would effectively cut off funding for biker gangs and
organized crime groups, she said, as they get their funding through
being involved in the illicit drug world.

For the NDP, they believe focusing on early childhood education and
helping marginalized people provide for their basic needs will pay
dividends down the road.

"It's about looking at it comprehensively," said Kelowna-Lake Country
NDP candidate Tisha Kalmanovitch.

"When you have strong, healthy communities...crime rates are not as high."

Prisons and policing, she said, deal with "symptoms, not causes" and
money spent on high levels of incarceration would be better invested
in early childhood education.

Increased levels of policing--the NDP are promising to work with
provincial governments to find funding for 2,500 police
officers--should be focused more in the area of community policing,
Kalmanovitch said.

Liberal candidate Kris Stewart also pointed back to dealing with the
root causes of crime, and said more funding is needed to support
those with mental health issues and addictions, and also for job support.

"I think we can do a better job of reducing crime," said Stewart, by
making sure people can meet their basic needs "as a means and ways of
supporting themselves."

"The Liberals have come up with a number of plans to get people ready
for the job market and off the streets."

Their platform includes $1 billion in support for families for higher
education, and strategies to help create more jobs in small business.

Adding police officers, she said, doesn't address the root causes of
crime. "It's not in their scope."

Nor does she agree with mandatory minimum sentences. "It basically
removes judges from the equation," Stewart said.

"We need policies that are tough on crime, but we've got to be smart on crime."

She claims that the Conservative platform only includes a "very
expensive half" of the equation in dealing with crime through
"U.S.-style mega prisons" and mandatory minimum sentences.

But Conservative candidate Ron Cannan says that claims they want to
build mega prisons are a "myth."

"We're building prison rehabilitation," he said, renovating and
adding on to prisons to create better working conditions and
accommodate prison populations.

He also says its wrong to say their party is all about prisons and
locking people up for committing crime, says the Conservatives have a
five-pronged approach, including prevention.

Cannan highlighted the creation of the youth gang prevention fund,
the national anti-drug strategy, a crime prevention strategy, a youth
justice fund and their government being the first to put in place a
mental health commission, noting that a majority of inmates have a
drug dependency or mental health issue.

Other prongs of the Conservative's approach include truth in
sentencing, support for police and prosecutors so they can do their
work effectively, cracking down on organized crime (including the
earlier creation of a Kelowna-based gang task force) and dealing with
dangerous violent offenders.

Still, Cannan says more work needs to be done to ensure the
punishment fits the crime and address community frustration with a
system that's been dubbed "catch and release."

"The reality is that our community is demanding our criminal justice
system to be stronger," he said. "There has to be consequences to
people's actions. Minimum mandatory sentences has been one of the
most effective ways of that."

If their party makes government, they've promised to pass a number of
bills in their first 100 days in office to address a number of crime
issues. "It's a good and balanced approach," said Cannan of his
party's policies."