POT SENTENCING QUESTIONED BY POLICE

Police are curious as to why Prince George courts are not sending marijuana
growers to jail, but they are not discouraged by the finding. A grow-op
study by criminology professor Darryl Plecas of the University College of
the Fraser Valley, 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. All of them had at least one prior
conviction, they averaged four priors, and 68 per cent of them were prior
drug offences, Plecas said. Yet no jail in Prince George, while court
houses in the rest of the province were sending half of such criminals to
prison for an average of five months each.

"We don't control (sentencing)," said RCMP spokesperson Const. Mike Caira.
"When it gets to court, the process stops for us. We hope, at the end of
the day, we have an impact on making our streets safer. If we dismantle a
grow and take those drugs away from the street, or disrupt the
profitability of criminals, that is a victory right there," Caira said.
"Any kind of court penalty is another victory. Jail time and a strong
message to those doing the grows is icing on the cake. In this job, like
any other, you can't have your cake and eat it too. If we can take down a
grow, if we can lay charges, if we can get convictions, all these things
give us incentive and tell us we have had an impact."

Some other police officers spoke to The Citizen with less diplomacy. Some
were downright furious. While Prince George courts have convicted many of
these perpetrators and assessed fines, conditional sentences and probation,
these officers would prefer to have the crooks behind bars at least for a
little while, with graduating severity for repeat offences.

"Perhaps it affects morale in some officers, but we are professionals who
do what we do and try to do it well," said Cpl. Sean Neary of North
District Drug Enforcement. "There are a lot of officers that take sentences
personally, but in my view it is my responsibility to do a complete,
thorough investigation, provide the material to the courts and let them
take it from there."

Neary says no amount of second-guessing the sentencing of grow-op
perpetrators will dampen the enthusiasm of police officers to detect them
and lay charges. He says that he knows of other jurisdictions in Canada
where the penalties are meted out more severely for these crimes, so much
so that some suspects apply to have their cases tried in B.C. hoping for
more lenient consequences, but he still arrives at work every day keen to
separate drugs from the public.

Neary also believes law is ever-evolving and sentencing will, he believes,
change over time to better reflect the crimes of the day.