Social support network must form part of a crime prevention strategy
By Lethbridge Herald on September 28, 2022.
Editor:
In the Lethbridge Herald of Thursday, Sept. 22, there appeared a guest column written by Tyler Shandro titled “Longer sentences, better bail regime needed in Canada.”
In this column Shandro cited the Miles Sanderson case as justification for harsher treatment for offenders. In stark contrast, in Friday’s Herald (Sept. 23) there appears a Canadian Press story with the following title: “Hardline enforcement no solution to repeat offenders.”
The story acknowledges the distress caused in many communities by repeat offenders, but offers a number of recommendations that relate to the complex and interrelated social conditions that lead to crime and specifically to repeat offenders. The B.C. government is moving immediately to implement the 24 recommendations in this report.
Notably, the report was prepared by a former Vancouver deputy police chief and a criminologist who specializes in mental health and addictions.
Criminologists and justice professionals know that hard cases make bad law. Moreover – without diminishing the seriousness of the Sanderson case – the single example trotted out by Shandro is not representative of all crime. It is a dog whistle, nothing more, cynically aimed at garnering support for increasing punishment for offenders. It’s pretty rich that Shandro wants to increase penalties for crime, and make granting of bail more difficult, when the government to which he belongs has decimated health care, education, AISH, and other facets of our social support network – all of which must by definition must form part of crime prevention.
Ian Hepher
Lethbridge
9-8
After wasting $1.3 billion on the Keystone pipeline, these phony conservatives waste $3.5 million on trying to prove that foreign corporations were attacking our oil industry, yet not one single oil executive agreed, then wasted money trying to block the Carbon Tax that oil executives wanted implemented because they know it works, they want to kick out the RCMP for daring to investigate their party and Albertans are being sued $3.5 billion by the Coal Corporation that wanted to destroy our mountains and pollute our water and these fools were willing to let them do it. Now Tyler Shandro wants to sue Ottawa, for doing the right thing, and banning assault rifles and handguns that can’t be used for hunting and have no business in the hands of criminals. He doesn’t care about the gun violence in the U.S. or the children killed in their classrooms, or seniors in a grocery store. He wants to bring the Stupid American Republican, Donald Trump, Brand of stupidity to Canada, just like his pal Poilievre wants to do. Where is the intelligence in that?
Anyone in their right mind wouldn’t be supporting these fools, yet we continue to see many of our fellow seniors still willing to do it and you have to wonder why? The financial disaster Danielle Smith is promising them should be enough but these mindless seniors as they are being called are still more than willing to let her, why?
The Pierre Poilievre freight-train is a rolling down the tracks!
If I was you FC and Liberals, I would get the hell out of the way before you are flattened!