TOUGH-ON-CRIME BILL MEANINGLESS WHEN JUSTICE SYSTEM IS BROKEN

In Britain, they are complaining about the chaos triggered by
knee-jerk sentencing of the U. K.' s August rioters, with cries of "
too tough, too tough!" Accusations that the judiciary suffered a "
collective loss of proportion" are flying: one person got six months
for stealing less than $ 10 worth of water, and two youths were jailed
for four years for inciting riots on Facebook that didn't happen.

With at least 1,800 people already processed for misconduct during the
English disturbances, however, the Brits at least have a legal system
that's working, for good or ill.

Here we await even the first indictment from the June 15 Stanley Cup
riot.

Though I note the man who attacked a Crown lawyer Thursday in Prince
George already faces charges of assault, assault causing bodily harm,
mischief and using violence against an officer of the court.

I guess there was no video to forensically deconstruct or whatever
they're doing that's slowing up the riot charges.

In Toronto, they've only begun the preliminary hearings for those
charged with conspiracy in 2010' s summit protests.

So Prime Minister Stephen Harper's plans to unveil his long-promised
Dirty Harryinspired crime law Tuesday strikes me as remarkably offkey.

We're going to show those bad guys now! Right.

In the recent election campaign, Harper vowed to bundle 12
law-and-order bills that died with the last Parliament into omnibus
legislation and ensure their passage.

He intends to eliminate some versions of house arrest, halt automatic
pardons for serious crimes, crack down on organized drug crime,
protect children from sexual predators, strengthen citizens' rights to
self-defence and jail guerrilla pot growers.

Judges will lose some discretion in sentencing with more mandatory
punishments, and a lot more people will go to jail.

Maybe we need these new measures, but I'm doubtful.

There is still far too much crime in Canada, the Conservative leader
insists, even though crime rates have been declining for years.

Empirical evidence is obviously not being marshalled.

Statistics are no excuse not to get tough on criminals, according to a
supportive memo circulated Sunday to Conservative MPs and leaked to
the media.

Quite simply, people are not reporting to the police that they are a
victim of crime, the memo states. More needs to be done. I could
quibble that I don't see a lot of unreported murders, bank robberies
or riots.

The memo continues: These tough new actions will hold criminals more
accountable, help improve the safety and security of individuals, and
extend greater protection to the most vulnerable members of society
and victims of terrorism. Canadians want and deserve to be able to
feel safe in their homes and communities and that means that dangerous
criminals need to be off our streets.

The problem is, as the riot proves, our legal system is lurching along
because of government cutbacks. Public confidence also is faltering
because it isn't working the way people want it to. It doesn't appear
to be working at all sometimes.

It is not inspiring that it took 13 years to actually jail two of the
most infamous fraudsters in Canadian history in Garth Drabinsky and
Myron Gottlieb.

Frankly, all the prime minister's rhetoric is meaningless sound and
fury in a real world where the system can't process cases in a timely
fashion: Justice delayed is justice denied.

Last week, the associate chief judge of the Provincial Court tossed
serious drug-trafficking charges against a man, not because he was
innocent but because it had taken too long for his trial.

The most severe sentences in the world are irrelevant if the bad guys
can expect a walk because of trial delays.

Harper's supposedly tough new actions will not do what they are
supposed to do because the underlying system is in need of repair.

Just as we need to invest in bridges, roads and sewers, we must put
money into the legal institutions that maintain civil society and
support public faith in the system.

Not rhetoric, cash.