We must
catch and convict gang members before we can sentence them
Op-ed
by the Hon. Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal Member of Parliament for Vancouver
South
In
recent years the problem of gang violence has become a serious threat to
the safety of our citizens. Nightly news stories of gang shootings
and violence on our streets is unacceptable and is creating a sense of
fear among law-abiding Canadians.
Recently,
the Conservatives came forward with legislation that they are trying to
sell as the hard-and-fast solution to this problem. Yes, it imposes
harsher jail sentences on gang-related crimes, but as everyone on the
front lines of this problem knows, tougher sentencing is only one part of
a comprehensive solution that is needed.
In
British Columbia, the problem of gang violence in Vancouver prompted the
provincial government to send their Attorney General and Solicitor General
to Ottawa to outline their recommendations on what the federal government
should be doing to combat this very serious issue across Canada.
Studies
show that the deterrents that work best are fear of getting caught and
punishment within a reasonable time of a criminal act being committed.
The
B.C. government believes – and the federal Liberals agree – that it
does no good to increase sentences if police do not have the tools they
need to catch and convict gang members.
What
is needed, what B.C. asked for, is not in the Conservative legislation.
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson completely ignored their pleas for the
resources police need to help catch gang members and that prosecutors need
to convict them.
Liberals
also support the idea of cutting back on 2-for-1 remand sentencing deals,
which double counts time spent in jail waiting for trial and
disproportionately reduces prison sentences for some violent offenders.
We
also support modernizing access laws to allow police to legally intercept
a wider range of contemporary communications between suspected gang
members, including better electronic measures.
The
previous Liberal government was moving forward with a plan to modernize
surveillance and wire tapping laws to deal with the modern realities of
today’s gangs. Instead, under this Conservative government, we have
failed to give law enforcement the resources they desperately need to deal
with escalating gang violence.
As
B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal put it: "We have nobody to
prosecute. The reason we have nobody to prosecute is nobody helps the
police, and the police are stymied by the laws they have to operate
under."
In
fact, this so-called “tough-on-crime” government has even failed to
keep its most basic law-and-order promise – to put more cops on the
streets.
We
will support this most recent bill because we believe it’s better than
nothing. It is modest, but necessary.
But
we will also continue to push for more. This government hasn’t lived up
to its commitments on crime. As a result, matters have gotten worse under
their watch.
We
believe Canada needs more than partisan rhetoric on crime – we need
realistic action that will actually make a difference.
