An ineffective way to fight crime

 

Yet he somehow tries to justify the expansion of old and new prisons, without admitting the cost will be well into $9 Billion and much higher over time, even though that clearly proves there will be more people imprisoned at an alarming rate, not more people rehabilitated and reintegrated into society.

 

The idea of imprisoning tens of thousands of non-violent people under the new definition of “serious crimes” — which now means as little as selling a few marijuana joints to a friend — is nothing less than an American-style War on Drugs that will be absolutely ineffective in reducing crime or making Canada safer. In fact, it will cost billions of dollars we can’t afford, and will result in mass incarceration with no relief in offenses, as proven by the United States’ multi-decade experiment.

 

The “tough-on-crime” policies of the Conservative Government are woefully backward, expensive, and ineffective. Canadians should demand progressive solutions instead of regressive ideology when it comes to dealing with crime and imprisonment.

 

Jodie Emery, Vancouver.

 

Mr. Toews states that the Conservative government is ‘unwavering in its commitment to providing law-enforcement agencies with the tools they need to make our streets safer.’

 

Except, it would seem, for the gun registry. The program’s strongest supporters include three national police organizations: the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Association of Police Boards, and the Canadian Police Association. These organizations count the registry as a “valuable tool”, and have spoken out against bill C-391, which continues to be pushed by Conservative MP Candice Hoeppner.

 

Also off the table is any discussion of ending prohibition or removing mandatory minimums for drug offences. The Conservative government has vociferously rejected such suggestions, but they have been endorsed by scientists, researchers, and police officers the world over. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, made up of current and retired police, calls for policymakers to reexamine a policy which places officers in harm’s way in a futile war.

 

As we see in the United States and Mexico, harsh crackdowns on marijuana and drugs merely increase the risk and profit for criminals, and the level of violence used against police and civilians to protect those profits.

 

There is a strange dichotomy in Conservative public safety policy; a program proven to make communities, and police, safer (the gun registry) is at risk of being cut, yet programs proven to fail (mandatory minimums and marijuana/drug prohibition) are not only lauded but given seemingly limitless funding at the Canadian taxpayer’s expense.

 

Although Stephen Harper and the Conservatives tout their fiscal responsibility and commitment to personal liberty and safety, on the issues of guns, drugs and crime they are neither.

 

Nicole Seguin,

 

National director, End Prohibition, Vancouver.

 

By now, it should be apparent that what the Harperites are really doing is trying to manufacture inmates. Recently, they made just about anything involving marijuana into a “serous” crime, meaning they are guaranteed to have tens of thousands more “serious” criminals this year than last. Then they can insist that crime is actually “increasing”.

 

They also want to impose a U.S.-style, for-profit prison system onto Canada. This policy has been wildly successful in the U.S. — what with more inmates than any country in the history of the world, steadily increasing crime and drug use, and an enormous debt. Meanwhile, a handful of jailers get rich at taxpayers’ expense.

 

The really scary part is that almost a third of this country is willing to ignore these simple facts and allow Harper and his minions to blow $10- billion on jails, instead of making $10-billion off of legalized pot.

 

When one considers that recent science shows how marijuana actually might cure cancer (look it up), the Harperites’ plans look psychotically diabolical.

 

Russell Barth,

 

Federally licensed medical marijuana user, Nepean, Ont.