(This
column was published in the North
Shore News on
April 11, 2001)
New organized crime law misses mark
By Leo Knight
ON
Thursday the federal government released its proposed new
legislation to combat organized crime in this country.
At
first glance, it appears to be, finally, the sort of tools
needed by the police to effectively take action against this
menace.
At
first glance.
In
1997 the Liberals enacted the current anti-gang legislation as
Bill C-95. It was a clumsy, knee-jerk reaction to public outrage
at the killing of an 11-year-old boy in Montreal, a passer-by
when a bomb detonated in a parked Jeep set off by warring biker
gangs.
The
legislation was, charitably speaking, unwieldy. It required
police to prove that someone engaged in organized crime
activities must be in a group of five and that each member must
know of the other's activities and criminal background. To most
police officers it appeared that the legislation was designed
for no other reason that the government being able to pat
themselves on their political backs and say they had taken
action.
The
only successful convictions under the act were recently achieved
in Montreal against four bikers. That investigation took three
years and cost over $5 million. Over 33,000 conversations were
intercepted by police and more than 100,000 pages of text
outlining the evidence were introduced into court.
But,
despite all that, it still took the testimony of former Rock
Machine member, Peter Paradis, who cut a self-serving deal with
the Crown, to convict the four bikers.
The
need to streamline the legislation was patently obvious and
presumably that is what led to the announcement by Justice
Minister Anne McLellan last week.
The
new legislation reduces the number of people required to be an
organized criminal operation from five to three. This shows me
the government still doesn't get it.
By
definition organized crime is two or more people engaging in an
ongoing, perpetual criminal conspiracy. While the Hells Angels
are an identifiable group, they don't engage in crime for the
benefit of the club. On the contrary, they individually engage
in criminal activity using the backing and structure of the club
to further their personal criminal endeavors.
Equally,
the Asian group known as the Big Circle Boys operate
independently, often working for or with a number of other
groups, be they triads or Eastern European Mafiya. Are
they any less organized crime than the bikers?
The
press release and the associated "backgrounder"
released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) also raises
questions. For instance, in the news release, DOJ announces the
provision of an additional $200 million "over the next five
years to implement legislation and related prosecution and law
enforcement strategies.
"This
funding will build on the $584 million that the RCMP received in
the 2000 budget for organized crime enforcement, improved
National Police Services and new communications systems."
In
the document entitled "Backgrounder," DOJ says,
"The 2000 federal budget provided the RCMP with $584
million over three years (2000-2003) for organized crime
enforcement, improved National Police Services and new
communications systems."
One
document seems to imply that all the money went to the RCMP in
the 2000 budget. The other says it is spread over three years.
Why the contradiction?
Again,
it seems to be little other than political posturing. In
reality, the government forced the RCMP to slim itself down
throughout the mid to late 1990s in order to meet shrinking
budgets. In 2000 they graciously allowed the RCMP to re-stock
its dwindling numbers.
On
Jan. 1, 2000, the authorized strength of the RCMP was 17,872. By
Jan. 1, 2001, that number increased to 19,989, an increase of
2,117 members. Extrapolating their annual salary and benefits
equates to an annual additional expenditure of $148,190,000. Add
in the training, uniforming and related equipment costs and the
number raises to about $200,000 million of the $584 million.
Spread over three years, as the "Backgrounder"
indicates, and the whole thing is eaten up.
Add
in the upgrades in the ROSS computer system, CPIC (the national
computer records data base), federal investment in
communications upgrades, such as we saw with E-Comm here in
Vancouver and one can't help but wonder exactly how much money
went "for organized crime enforcement" whether in one
year as the press release says or spread over three years as the
"Backgrounder" says.
The
single biggest omission from the proposed legislation, and it is
glaring, is the failure to make membership in organized criminal
groups a crime. You see, this is the one thing that all
gangsters fear. And the government did not do it. Why not?
The
way things stand, it requires the police to prove each and every
time, that the gang is an organized criminal enterprise.
It
remains to be seen when the actual legislation is passed whether
it actually is a great new tool for law enforcement or simply
more political grandstanding designed to let the government say
they are doing something about the threat but not actually do
anything constructive.
Time will tell.
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