JAIL TERMS DON'T DETER CRIMES

Re: Harper has his justice platform locked up, Jan. 25.

I commend Dan Gardner for continuing to remind us of the consequences
that might occur if the newly elected minority Conservative
government attempts to reform the current criminal justice policy by
increasing punishments.

Prior to the election, Mr. Gardner wrote several highly
evidence-based articles pertaining to crime. On numerous occasions he
reiterated that criminology research shows that making punishment
tougher does not deter criminals from committing crimes. As Mr.
Gardner points out, the U.S., which has adopted "get tough" policies,
has over 25 years increased its "spending on cops, courts and prisons
by 452 per cent." At the same time, spending for higher education was
reduced by 21 per cent.

During the election campaign, Mr. Harper neither explained nor
outlined to the public the cost required to implement his crime
policies. In an earlier article, Mr. Gardner outlined the enormous
spending required -- it is in the billions of dollars. This money has
to come from somewhere. Do we want Canada to become like the U.S and
increase needless spending on crime, thereby taking away much-needed
resources from things like healthcare services? Every Canadian would
suffer as health care affects every individual in this country.

Should these "get tough" policies be implemented, I fear that our
country and our health-care system will be in worse shape than they
are today. This is something Canada and Canadians cannot afford!
Politicians need to implement policies that will benefit us today and
in the future, and not policies that merely get votes.

Christine Bonta,

Ottawa