IN PRAISE OF PUNISHMENT

It just keeps getting better and better for criminals in Vancouver
and the rest of B.C.

First came the report Beyond the Revolving Door: A New Response to
Chronic Offenders, which confirmed street crime in the nation's third
largest city is out of control. The 134-page report concedes that the
revolving door justice system has been a horrific failure in
attempting to address repeat offenders and property crime. As quick
as police can arrest law breakers, they're back on the street
committing more offences.

Then the Vancouver Board of Trade released an analysis showing
Greater Vancouver was the worst major metropolitan area in Canada for
property crime.

And now comes another report confirming, once again, that sentences
are lighter in Vancouver than other jurisdictions. The Canadian
Bankers Association released data showing that fewer bank robbers are
given jail time in Vancouver than Toronto, Edmonton or Calgary. And
when they are sentenced to custody, it's for considerably shorter
periods of time.

B.C., and the Lower Mainland in particular, is the best place to do
crime. All other things being equal, offenders face fewer
consequences here than anywhere else in the country.

True, punishment doesn't always work and carelessly applied it can
certainly make a bad situation much worse. But carefully thought out,
punishment is a most effective deterrent and crime prevention strategy.

Consider the case of marijuana grow-ops. Anyone in Washington State
convicted of running a grow-op can expect a minimum five years in
jail. If they're growing on their own property they've just lost
their house. If they have young children they can expect social
services to remove them.

What happens in B.C.? The grower loses his light bulbs and might pay
a fine equivalent to a couple ounces of product. And he's back in
business the next day. Consequently, grow-ops are not a problem in
Washington State. While in B.C. they number in the thousands.

So let's lay the "tough penalties don't deter" myth to rest.

Clearly, more treatment for addicted offenders and better
coordination between social services, health and criminal justice
agencies is required. Concerns of under-funding in these areas are
completely legitimate. But that doesn't necessitate we roll our eyes
in disgust at the mention of increasing sanctions and resign
ourselves to the fast diminishing quality of life B.C.'s law-abiding
citizens are experiencing.

The highly touted, four-pillars model advocating equal attention to
education, treatment, enforcement, and harm reduction is all well and
good. But it's missing a fifth pillar-punishment.

Because as the grow-op analogy demonstrates, punishment works and it
works well. It's B.C.'s failed "catch and release" justice policy
that warrants retiring.

John Martin, a criminologist at the University College of the Fraser
Valley, can be reached John.Martin@ucfv.ca.