It is true, according to a recent memo sent out to the Conservative caucus by the Prime Minister’s office, that there have been over 2 million crimes reported in Canada last year, of which 440,000 have been violent crimes. Unfortunately, the above in combination with numerous other statistics mentioned in the memo seem to paint a serious crime situation in this country.
However, the memo not only seems over inflated, in the sense that it commits a sin of omission, but is also making it sound as if the situation is critical. Yes, all these crime statistics are true, however, police reports and trends also show that Canadians have been committing less crime in lesser numbers since the 1970’s.
According to Statistics Canada, in 2010 there were 77,000 fewer police-reported crimes than in 2009. There were also decreases in reported youth-crime, D.U.Is, property crimes and homicides.
This is the sin of omission I’m referring to. The memo does not mention the fact that despite these statistics, Canada is becoming less criminal as crime rates are steadily dropping. Canadians, from the impression I got from my neighbors, friends and acquaintances, still feel relatively safe in their neighborhoods, inside their homes, at school and at work.
Public opinion may also show that the majority of Canadians are satisfied with the way crime is handled by the judiciary and with the levels of punishment from criminal mischief to homicide to be adequately set.
So the question on everybody’s mind then is: Why would the Conservative government, knowing fully that crime rates are dropping in the country, introduce a massive omnibus bill aimed at taking the way police, our justice system and ordinary citizens view and handle crime in an opposite direction.
We now in the civilized world know that stricter punishment doesn’t mean rehabilitation. The more time a person does for his crime, the more disillusioned he or she may get about re-integration.
For example, the omnibus bill will introduce legislation which will treat Cannabis users and growers more harshly, in particular those involved in grow ops of six or more plants. Why is this the case? With what I have seen so far, Cannabis users are relatively harmless, most have never been involved in any vehicle accidents while driving under the influence and most have never committed any serious crimes.
Additionally, the use of Cannabis can be written of as the most inoffensive activity known to man to date. It hurts nobody, neither the user, neither the environment and neither the rest of us. The worst that can be said about Cannabis is that it leaves a less than pleasant smell in any place in which it’s been recently used.
Unfortunately, it seems that the PM is taking his cues on crime legislation from the great failure down south, the U.S. A country that not only has destroyed its own economy and who’s population seems to be less and less united but also who’s crime rates are highest among all advanced nations.
The U.S. is one of the few countries in the modern world that still implements and supports capital punishment; it, China, a tiny list of third world backwater nations and dictatorships are places in which crime legislation is tough but ineffective.
With this new omnibus bill and any future changes for worse to our criminal laws, Canada is sure tho join the above list sooner rather than later.