(This column was published in the North Shore News on Jan. 22, 2003)
Norgate neighbourhood gets another visit
By Leo Knight
TWO weeks ago I wrote a column after my car was broken into (yet again) in which I described the career criminal activities of a young man who has terrorized his own neighbourhood.
I didn't identify him or the neighbourhood for a couple of reasons and I will continue in the same vein as the reasons have not changed.
So pervasive are this thug's actions that several residents in that neighbourhood e-mailed me after publication identifying the guy and the neighbourhood. Each of them told me their horror stories suffered simply because they chose to live in this particular part of North Vancouver.
The circumstances are not unique, but rather they serve to underline our society's inability to deal with habitual offenders.
One of the residents told me about returning home after Christmas to find his house had been broken into. His four-year-old son's Thomas The Tank wallet was rifled for the cash inside. He told me of having to explain "bad people" to his heartbroken little boy.
Others told of interminable waits in court only to be told the neighbourhood thug failed to appear and they had to return to watch him plead guilty and get nothing for his crimes.
One letter in particular, written in response to that column struck me as a great example of the frustration that people are feeling. I'd like to share that with you here without the name of the writer to protect her:
To:leo.knight@shaw.ca
Subject: criminals
Dear Mr. Knight:
Your article
Future Bleak for Unimpeded Criminals mirror my sentiments exactly.
In August, my husband had his car stolen out of the city hall parking lot in Vancouver. The police recovered it, minus all four tires, the following day. When my husband went to look into the car, he found a piece of paper that looked as though it had slipped out of someone's pocket. On the paper was a photo, the man's name and address. Apparently, he was out
on parole.
My husband took it to the police and one of the officers recognized the photo right away because the fellow was known to be the head of a ring of car thieves.
Could the police do anything? Absolutely not, because these guys have to be caught in the act. So these car thieves are laughing themselves silly and we stand by helplessly and reach deeper into our pockets to pay rising car insurance.
I don't know how it happened, but we have become extremely fearful of offending the criminals and misfits in our society in case we are accused of being politically incorrect.
We have become almost like the indulgent parent that is afraid to discipline, but like the indulgent parent, we are actually doing much harm to these people that need the help to get back on track. Our gentle, compassionate and permissive justice system is ineffective. Perhaps we should look at Singapore's justice system. There's very little crime there, I
hear.
Sincerely,
(name withheld)
Even with the evidence presented to the police, they didn't go and arrest the suspect who was on parole. Why? Simply because the Crown prosecutors would say there "was not a substantial likelihood of conviction."
The crook through his lawyer would simply concoct some line about how he lost the ID card the week before the theft and that would be that.
We, the good citizens of Canada, are being held hostage by a system that seems paralyzed by habitual offenders and a group of federal politicians that are either apathetic or oblivious to the problem. Largely, I suspect because they don't believe there are any votes in the issue.
We, the perennial victims of the criminals, are just too busy with day-to-day life to make much noise which is the only thing the politicians will listen to.
There are shooting wars raging on the streets of Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. Property crimes, especially car thefts and thefts from vehicles are climbing through the stratosphere. Still the government dithers.
They have wasted upwards of a billion dollars on a useless gun registry which cannot possibly do anything to enhance public safety yet they can't find the money to fund national police child pornography investigations. These idiots probably think they can eliminate the problem by enacting a law forcing everyone to register their computers.
I don't know what it will take to rouse them from their stupor. But, sooner or later something has to give.
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