HUG-A-THUG CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IS BROKE

Thankfully, we now hear baby steps. But will same old be same old,
lots of jaw action?

The status quo is not acceptable. That's what Ron Stevens, the
province's justice minister, tells us. That's what Rick Hanson, the
city police chief, tells us. That's what Bronco, the mayor, tells us.
That's what Stephen Harper's Conservatives tell us. That's what polls tell us.

The hug-a-thug criminal justice system is broke, a joke when it comes
to who gets bail, a mystery when to comes to what sentence goes with
what beef and what bonehead. But somehow, in all this telling to us,
we still have no shortage of screaming headlines and shocking stories.

We hear everyone figures enough is enough. We hear everyone wants bad
guys to no longer laugh at the courts and the cops.

We hear, we hear, we hear.

Thankfully, we now hear the baby steps. The mayor asks the police
chief to report on the extent of the theatre of the absurd where
criminals are caught only to be quickly released back to the street
to go back to their business as usual. And Stevens, Alberta's top
legal beagle, is making noise. He wants to replace cops with Crown
prosecutors when it comes to bail applications. That means hiring
more prosecutors. Stevens says there's been success with the idea in
Wetaskiwin.

"The result is more people who belong in remand are going to remand
and those getting out on conditions see more rigorous and appropriate
conditions," says the justice department's main man, who is also
Premier Ed's right-hand man.

"I'm happy to take this forward to my colleagues. I like it. It's an
appropriate piece of the puzzle. The police will be doing what they
ought to be doing and the crown prosecutors will be doing what they
ought to be doing."

Also, in the jigsaw, Stevens wants to flag the files of all chronic
offenders so prosecutors will have the goods on them when they go for
their Get Out Of Jail Free card.

Serious and often violent repeat no-goods are tagged, those who
Stevens says "would take a hammer to other people" and "if we let
them out on bail you'd write about it."

But he is now taking aim at those he says are "criminal by nature",
the idiots with the rap sheet, the 15% in the system doing 60% of the
dirty deeds.

"They know the judge's first name," says Stevens, who admits
sometimes he reads the stories in the paper and often scratches his head.

He says the rules on bail aren't the big problem.

"The general rule is you have to establish a reason to keep them in.
The rules don't look so bad."

So the justice minister, who also happens to be a Calgarian, will
begin a review of the Justices of the Peace, though he is not
specific on how this look-see will work.

When to comes to jail time, a source of aggravation to the new city
police chief, who looks pretty strong coming out of the gate, Stevens
backs Ottawa's move to mandatory minimum sentences and their
intention to include deterrence as a principle in youth sentencing.
He also is behind their plan to examine the whole youth justice law.

Stevens also backs plans to crack down on drug-impaired driving
through bodily fluid tests and impaired driving by restricting
challenges to the breathalyzer, as in the so-called "two beer defence."

You know, where somebody goes to court and his witnesses testify he
only had two beers, not enough to go over .08, thereby questioning
the reading on the machine.

Alberta's main man for laying down the law is also going after
something Ottawa is not moving on, forcing Internet providers to
report a crime they know is being committed, that is, telling the
cops about evidence of kiddie porn.

"In order to address this issue we need the help of Internet
providers. When you see child pornography, it's absolutely obvious
you know it has not artistic value, it's child pornography."

Heather Forsyth is a former provincial top cop and a Calgary MLA.
Heather's riding includes the house where 17-year-old Matthew McKay
was attacked and killed with a pickaxe after a fight erupted at a
party there. Heather, also headed up Premier Ed's task force on safe
communities, a group who completed recommendations, expected to be
tough on crime and the causes of crime. Those proposals will be
released later this month.

"We heard that over and over again," says Heather, of the revolving
door of catch-and-release.

She says it is "about time" concerns about crime are now on the
collective radar.

But will the same old be the same old, lots of jaw action?

"Have some faith," says Stevens. Sorry, nothing personal, but faith
in politicians isn't in my DNA. Show me.