Conservative crime bill misses the mark

OTTAWA – The Green Party of Canada is pointing to a new US study, Unlocking America, that suggests the measures proposed in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s omnibus crime bill are bound to be ineffective and wasteful of taxpayers’ money.

“American criminal law policies have created an incarceration pandemic in the US and enormous costs for funding their criminal justice system,” said Green Party leader Elizabeth May. “This report clearly demonstrates how wrongheaded Harper’s heavy-handed approach is and confirms the importance of the Green commitment to tackling the root causes of crime.”

The report from the JFA Institute says the total economic loss to victims of crime in 2002 was just over $15 billion, yet the US spends over $200 billion each year to fund its criminal justice system. Also noted is the lack of evidence that crime rates can be kept low by increasing incarceration. New York City, for example, has seen one of the largest drops in the crime rate while substantially reducing its inmate population.

“This report illustrates the vast disparity between the economic losses associated with crimes and the money spent to incarcerate offenders,” said Justice critic Jared Giesbrecht. “It also clearly demonstrates what criminal law scholars and criminologists have been saying for years—increased incarceration rates simply do not lead to reduced levels of crime. It is time Mr. Harper recognizes that the same ‘tough on crime’ strategies that are failing in the US are bound to fail in Canada.”

Mr. Giesbrecht added that Mr. Harper’s omnibus crime bill seems to have been crafted in direct opposition to this report and other evidence-based research, as the bill would increase mandatory minimum sentences for several offences and is designed to increase the incarceration rates in Canada. Mandatory minimum sentences will apply to some drug crimes and the maximum sentence for the production of cannabis will be 14 years.

“It is unfortunate that no other opposition party is willing to challenge the Conservatives by pointing out these obvious flaws in their irresponsible criminal law policies,” said Mr. Giesbrecht. “Canadians are looking for effective and responsible strategies for tackling crime and the Green Party is prepared to offer a different strategy – one that will bring about real results and ensure the safety and security of our families.”

For more information, see http://www.jfa-associates.com/publications/srs/UnlockingAmerica.pdf.