OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM CODDLES OFFENDERS

Editor:

The proposed closure of Lethbridge's youth detention centre (The Herald,
April 6) due to underutilization is further evidence the legal beagles have
gone bonkers and need to be restrained.

Our woebegone legal industry has lost sight of the primary objective of
protecting society by capturing, identifying and punishing offenders, be
they young or otherwise. The detention centre is not underutilized due to a
shortage of suitable candidates. The candidates are there in ever
increasing abundance because a life of crime is allowed to appear more
enticing than performing honest work for a livelihood.

The victims of crimes are not pleased the system allows, in fact,
encourages, the use of their tax money to coddle offenders. The victims are
more inclined to think in terms of regulation, reform, restitution,
retribution, retaliation, revenge and a lot of other "r"s before any
thought of rehabilitation -- the societies of John Howard and Elizabeth Fry
to the contrary.

There is little comfort in the legal beagles' claims only 10, 20 or 30 per
cent of offenders will reoffend. It is terrifying so many are allowed to
reoffend dozens of times with relative impunity. No rap sheet should be
allowed more than three entries.

There was a day when offenders were sometimes dissuaded by the prospect of
a very large tree and a stout rope manufactured from field-grown hemp. Now
the field-growing of hemp is illegal because offenders want it to
manufacture drugs, and instead of a fear of very large trees, the offenders
have chosen to grow small indoor trees to acquire material for legal
recreational smoking. Things have certainly gone to pot.

Ben Van Hees, Lethbridge