(This
column was published in the North
Shore News on
April 1, 1998)
Address real
crime issues, Victoria
By Leo Knight
THE
images evoked by the senseless murder of Reena Virk, brutally
beaten and left to die in a Victoria slough last fall, by young
teenage girls no less, shocked even the NDP politicians from
their state of perpetual slumber when dealing with juvenile
crime.
Unfortunately,
though awakened, the only thing provided to a society in crisis
was politically correct rhetoric delivered by a government
without a clue.
We,
as a society, haven't been able to come to grips with the
ravages of juvenile, or more accurately, young offender crime.
B.C.
has the highest crime rate in the country. Vancouver is the bank
robbery capital of Canada. Montreal, Toronto and Calgary put
together can't match the City of Vancouver alone.
Murders,
violence, robberies, rapes. We're it. Highest in the country.
Property crimes are going through the roof. Car thefts have
doubled in less than four years.
Want
proof? Hands up everyone who hasn't themselves, or doesn't know
anyone who has been the victim of a crime in the past five
years.
Five'll get you 10 and a donut there are no hands raised by readers of this space. I'd venture a guess and say this was not true 10 years ago.
So
how'd we get to this distressing state? Ask a dozen
criminologists and you'll get a dozen different answers.
Yet,
this was a week dominated by items like the shootings in
Arkansas of school kids as young as 11 by two other kids aged 11
and 13. Scary stuff. But don't let yourself get lulled into a
state of complacency just because the incident occurred in the
Excited States of America.
Could
this happen here? In a heartbeat. When most of you were kids in
school, there was the possibility of getting into a fight with a
schoolyard bully. Maybe a group of toughs. But what was settled
with fists is now more likely to be challenged with a knife or a
gun.
Gangs
intimidate not only with their numbers, but with threats they
are more than prepared to back up in blood. This is what our
kids have to face in schools today.
In
Surrey last month, two teens were gunned down by other teens in
a drive-by shooting for no apparent motive other than an earlier
argument at a party. In Langley last year, five kids were shot
in another drive-by shooting inspired by nothing more than an
argument resulting in a loss of face by the perpetrators of the
shooting.
The
terminology in itself demonstrates the problem. Drive-by
shootings. Home invasions. Car jackings. These are the new words
being added to everyday lexicon. The jargon of the streets. But
not just vernacular, mean-nothing words, preferred by teenagers
wishing to be disassociated from the older generation. The words
and phrases denote terror itself. Acts designed to scare the
victims so absolutely to make prosecution nigh near impossible
lest retribution be meted out.
"Stick"
is no longer something you throw for Sparky in the park. It's
something that happens to people. "Off" is not what we
do to the light switch. It's what gets done to a perceived
enemy.
A
"ride" isn't what you do on a bicycle. It's your car
stolen by some punk already on probation for the previous 20 or
30 cars he stole.
"Stroll"
is not what you do with your new love. It's where kids, barely
into their teen years, sell their bodies for money, drugs and
survival.
A
"nine" is not a baseball team. It's a gun. Available
for $300 to $500 on the black market.
Last
year there were just over 300 so-called "hate crimes"
province wide. The city of Vancouver had over 10,000 auto
thefts, the majority being committed by teens. Yet, the attorney
general created a hate crimes unit specially funded by the
provincial government to attack that problem.
Certainly,
a gay bashing or racially motivated assault is foul and
unforgivable. But, with just over 300 documented incidents, does
it really merit a special squad?
The
NDP give millions of dollars in grants to a myriad of
organizations with the acronym "AIDS" in their name.
But try to get funding for a new prison or more staff and
Corrections officials are virtually laughed at.
Want
to set up a program to deal with problem youths beginning to
show signs of trouble? You'll have to stand in line behind the
one-legged Nigerian lesbians.
But
it is possible to change.
An
innovative program has been going on for the past five years in
Broward County, Florida. The district attorney, Harry Shorestein,
recognized that the bulk of Jacksonvilles problems were caused
by youth crime. He also realized the habitual offenders saw no
consequences for their acts. Probation on top of probation.
Sound familiar?
Shorestein
began a get-tough program for youths falling afoul of the law.
He tied it to a correction facility which also housed a high
school and specially-trained instructors. Attendance was
mandatory. So was graduation. No probation and ritual
"grounding." No finger wagging and empty promises of
punishment. Real consequences for real crimes. But tied to
positive rehabilitative programs.
Shorestein
found out his program reduced the recidivism rate by more than
two thirds. His program began paying for itself in reduced
policing and corrections costs.
Gay bashing, though reprehensive, is not a problem. Purse snatching, auto thefts, burglaries, assaults, extortions and murders are a problem.
The
public simply wants to feel safe.
They
want their kids to go to school without feeling afraid. They
want to find their car where they parked it. They want to come
home and find their TV right where they left it.
Is
that too much to ask?