POLITICIANS DIVIDED OVER JAIL TIME FOR POT GROWERS

Changes need to be made to the system that has not handed out any jail
time for local people convicted of running grow-ops, says Prince
George North MLA Pat Bell.

"I think there is something fundamentally wrong when that happens,"
Bell said. "Our system right now is not set up to punish the guilty.
We need to look at an appropriate level of punishment for proprietors
of grow-ops. This goes way beyond the issue of growing marijuana and
gets into the reality of grow-ops funding all kinds of other very
serious crimes - typically firearms, harder drugs and so on."

Bell's comments come in the wake of a grow-op study by criminology
professor Darryl Plecas of the University College of the Fraser
Valley, which states the Prince George legal system had prosecuted
many cases of drug production and trafficking, but none of those found
guilty were sentenced to even a single day in jail.

The finding applies to the years 2001 to 2003. A total of 68 people
were found guilty during that time, yet no jail in Prince George,
while courthouses in the rest of the province were sending half of
such criminals to prison for an average of five months each.

Prince George-Mount Robson MLA Shirley Bond says she has heard from
constituents on a routine basis about how safer communities means a
focus on crime prevention.

"There is a growing concern that penalties need to be a deterrent and
people are concerned about inconsistency in sentencing," she said. "I
have not read the grow-op report so I don't know the details behind
the statistics, but I'm sure that my constituents would be very
interested in why there seems to be a difference in this area's stats.
I'm not saying the courts are wrong in what they are doing, but if
there is inconsistency I think people would like to know why."

Paul Nettleton, MLA for Prince George-Omineca, says as a former
criminal defence lawyer he believes jail is not at all the best tool
of punishment in every given criminal circumstance.

"Everyone involved can make mistakes, but I think we have a pretty
darn good system which works, certainly not perfectly, but
exceptionally well compared to most jurisdictions in the world," said
Nettleton. "Our courts are crowded with accused, our judges have very
busy calendars, Crown prosecutors are hard-working, specially skilled
men and women who, in Prince George I know personally, do their job
exceptionally well. I would never second-guess the sentencing that is
meted out on a daily basis."

Nettleton said throwing people in jail for many kinds of crimes only
runs up taxpayer costs and ensures many criminals will continue or
even expand their antisocial behaviour.

Cariboo-Prince George MP Dick Harris has a tougher view of the justice
system's role. He believes the criminal code provides for jail
sentences in the case of grow-ops and doesn't believe none of the
cases seen in Prince George court were deserving of that result.

"The judges, I feel, have failed the people of Prince George for not
properly administering those sentences," said Harris. "I think in
Prince George, those who have grow-ops must be laughing at the court
system, feeling comfortable that they can go about their business. I
feel badly for the RCMP who spend all this time busting these guys
only to watch them walk out of court with some sort of fine that
probably reflects pocket change to criminals like that who grow
essentially cash crops."