A NEED FOR CHANGE

The tragic events which unfolded near Maythorpe, Alta., where four
young mounties' lives were suddenly taken, shows how violent criminals
are becoming.

There is a total disregard for the law, because the justice system and
the punitive sentencing handed out, are to say the least, a joke. On
the front page of the Observer, Oct. 15, 2003, the photo and caption
show a rammed police car.

It's a common practice now used by thieves to gain entry into
buildings to steal merchandise or elude police.

A deadly game unfolded in Vernon awhile back when one officer lost his
life, and Cst. Frank Grenier is slowly recovering. Conditional
sentencing and probation fails, because many of the persons committing
crime have gone through the system already. B.C. jails one in seven
pot growers.

In Vancouver, one in 13.59 per cent of growers received neither a fine
nor jail, but a conditional sentence or probation.

With over 20,000 grow operations in B.C., and lax sentences, more
organized crime syndicates are setting up shop. The Seymour Arm bust,
as well as the one in Grand Forks which had 5,000 plants and grow
equipment worth $5 million dollars, is a good indicator. As a former
enforcement person dealing with the law, and testifying in court on
many occasions, we just shook our heads at the light sentences
administered, after spending hours reviewing files, completing the
many photo albums, completing court briefs, meeting with Crown, then
giving testimony.

The situation in Maythorpe has set off alarm bells right across the
country, as people cry out for change to the system, and harsher
sentencing to the criminal element. I admire conservative M. P. Randy
White's dogged determination on making changes and harsher penalties
to the bad guys.

Maybe Anne McClellan and other members of parliament will begin to
realize that five years of buffooning and delays in changing the laws,
that victims of crime, the young lives being ruined by crystal meth,
cocaine and soft drugs, is destroying our nation as a country.

Hank Shelley