THE WRONG WAY TO CUT CRIME

Everyone knows that the United States has gotten "tough on crime." It
is the only western country with the death penalty. And over the last
25 years, American federal and state governments imposed brutal
sentences, built harsh prisons and cut parole. Its incarceration rate,
which was double Canada's in 1980, is now six times higher: There are
more prisoners in the United States than there are people in the Maritimes.

Something else that distinguishes Canada and the U.S. is the homicide
rate. In Canada, it is 1.85 per 100,000 people. In the U.S., it is 5.6
- -- a little more than triple the Canadian rate.

One might think these facts would make criminal justice a point of
pride in this country: We're kinder, gentler and safer. Why, we might
even want to boast a little and invite the Yanks up to have a look at
how we do things. But, Canadians being Canadians, precisely the
opposite is happening.

There have been nine murders in Toronto since Jan. 1, compared to
three in the same period last year. Most of the bloodshed involved
gangs, and guns and the spectacular nature of the violence caught the
imagination of the media. Coverage has been out of all proportion,
particularly among the tabloid journalists and talk-radio demagogues
who seem to relish nothing so much as manufacturing fear.

Toronto Mayor David Miller responded this week with promises of more
social programs and an independent panel to look for solutions. This
did not please the many critics who want -- although few put it this
way -- an American solution. The system is too soft, says Toronto's
police chief, Julian Fantino. "In the minds of far too many criminals,
gangsters and that, crime pays." Anybody who uses a gun in the
commission of a crime, said Mr. Fantino, "should get a minimum 10-year
sentence. And you watch what kind of message goes out."

The National Post seconded that in an editorial headlined "Get Tough
On Crime."

"Sentences are short and parole conditions lenient," claimed the Post.
American cities cut crime in the 1990s with "aggressive crackdowns on
all offences petty and major both -- an approach that has consistently
been found to net repeat offenders and lower street crime."

The Conservative party has yet to put together its criminal justice
platform, but it's certain to look southward, as the Alliance platform
did, because each of the leadership candidates has been talking up the
American formula.

These are all very bad ideas. The Post's claims for the success of
zero-tolerance policing is nonsense, as any number of criminologists
would attest. And Mr. Fantino's call for mandatory minimum sentences
on gun-related crime not only ignores extensive research showing such
sentences don't work, it overlooks the fact that we already have
several mandatory minimums for gun crime (including an automatic
minimum of four years for using a gun to commit a serious crime such
as robbery or rape) which came into force in 1996 and obviously failed
to stop the current bloodshed.

Fans of the get-tough approach also need to consider a key fact: Over
the last 20 years, crime trends in the U.S. and Canada have been close
to identical -- even though the U.S. gorged on punishment to the point
where one in four prisoners on the planet is in an American lockup.
Clearly, the major crime trends are not driven by how tough the
justice system is, so why import brutal American policies?

Toronto's problems also have to be kept in perspective. Over the last
decade, the rate of property crime in Toronto has dropped 43 per cent.
Violent crime declined from almost 1,000 crimes per 100,000 people to
820. And despite the city's problems with gangs, the homicide rate,
which in 1992 was two per 100,000, is now ... two.

It would also help if the critics took a look at American cities
before demanding American policies. Detroit cut crime greatly in the
1990s, but its homicide rate is still 10.9 -- more than five times
higher than Toronto's rate. In Dallas, the homicide rate is 7.8 In
Atlanta, it's 8.3. In Los Angeles, it's 11.8. In New York City, even
after the much-hyped crime drop of the 1990s, the homicide rate stands
at 6.6.

In Vancouver, the homicide rate is four. In Montreal, it is two. It is
also two in Ottawa. In fact, because StatsCan rounds off its numbers,
Ottawa's homicide rate in 1997 and 2001 were recorded as zero.

Of course, zero would be perfect and we're not perfect. But over the
years, the Citizen has sent me across Canada, the U.S., Western
Europe, Russia and the Third World. I can't say, like Hank Snow, I've
been everywhere, but I have walked dark streets in many cities and I
know I've never been anywhere safer than right here. I realize it's
un-Canadian to say Canada has got something right, but the evidence
leaves me with no choice.

Dan Gardner is a Citizen senior writer.