(Published in 24 Hours Jan 4, 2012)
78 strikes for Caza
By
Leo Knight
If the definition of insanity is repeating the same behaviour over and over again while expecting a different result, then surely our justice system must be insane.
On Dec. 9 Vancouver Police issued a public warning about Tracy Lloyd Caza a high-risk offender who was released after serving the full two years of a robbery sentence. He had been out on early release months earlier, but he breached his conditions in short order and was sent back into custody.
When he was released he was under no reporting conditions, having served the full sentence imposed by the court. The full sentence would have been adequate if this had been the first instance of Caza’s criminality, but, considering the sentence Caza served was the 78th conviction on his record since 1977, the sentence was woefully inadequate.
Caza, as regular readers of this space will recall, is a career criminal who preys on those most helpless in society. His ‘career’ includes just about everything from soup to nuts in the crime menu. The system has been seemingly powerless to do anything to stop his inevitable crime wave. Well, except for incarcerating him. Hmmm, maybe there’s a clue.
On New Year’s Eve, true to form, Caza was again arrested, this time charged with sexual assault, assault and threatening. The police dutifully brought him before a judge on Monday only to have the court release him on bail with some conditions that he will surely ignore and breach.
One of the aspects the courts are supposed to look at in granting bail is the likelihood of the accused to re-offend. As Caza has demonstrated throughout his life, he will re-offend. I know it. The police know it. Caza knows it. So how is it possible the judge doesn’t?
Just as sure as God made little green apples Caza will victimize someone else and most likely in the next couple of weeks. Like the scorpion who stings the frog ferrying him across the pond, he just can’t help himself.
One of the other things judges are supposed to consider in bail is protection of the public. So, if we know for sure that Caza will re-offend, how is the next victim of Caza being protected by the courts granting him bail?
People complain that three strikes and you’re out, as is practiced in several US jurisdictions, is draconian. Perhaps so. But after 78 strikes this guy is still at bat.