May 8, 2014
Globe and Mail – Editorial
Deadly statistics, unanswered questions and missing aboriginal women
The editorial is wondering what level of horror will be required to induce the federal government to hold an inquiry if 1,186 murdered or missing women by the RCMP reckoning is not enough to persuade. “For an aboriginal woman living on the margins of society, a caring law-enforcement system could mean the difference between life and death. A public inquiry is a chance to air all that went wrong in the past, and figure out how to get it right in the future.” http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/editorials/deadly-statistics-unanswered-questions-and-missing-aboriginal-women/article18407550
Globe and Mail – Gloria Galloway
Ottawa wants to offload legal responsibility for native police program
Policing on Aboriginal reserves has always been the shared responsibility of the Aboriginal community, the province and the federal government. This week the auditor general criticized the federal government for its role in the funding and the piecemeal approach to Aboriginal policing. Now, it appears that the intent of the federal government is to download the funding and the responsibility to the Aboriginal community itself. New policing agreements to absolve the federal government of responsibility, ignoring the state of training and equipment, were designed without Aboriginal input and sent to the communities where Aboriginal policing in place. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-wants-first-nations-to-police-reserves/article18548114
National Post – Tasha Kheiriddin
How overcrowded prisons lead to meaner streets
In the context of the recent auditor general’s report on overcrowding in federal prisons the article grapples with the change of policy that now accepts double bunking as Correctional Services of Canada standard policy, contrary to both recognized wisdom and UN standards. The article acknowledges an increase in prison violence and lockdowns, both at the federal and provincial levels, as an inevitable consequence. Instead of safer streets, says Kheiriddin, this approach is just leaves meaner streets when inmates come out of prison. http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2014/05/08/tasha-kheiriddin-how-overcrowded-prisons-lead-to-meaner-streets Related article (December 2013): iPolitics.ca – Laura Stone CSC poised to make double-bunking the norm, documents show http://www.ipolitics.ca/2012/12/03/csc-poised-to-make-double-bunking-the-norm-documents-show
Toronto Star – Alex Boutilier
Ottawa is ‘creeping’ your Facebook
“Interim privacy commissioner Chantal Bernier said an “increasing number” of government institutions are collecting publicly available personal information from sites like Facebook and Twitter “without any direct relation to a program or activity.” At the same time Treasury Board President Tony Clement could not offer and reason for the various government departments for collecting this personal data. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/05/08/ottawa_is_creeping_your_facebook.html
Ottawa Citizen – Chris Cobb
‘I will tell him I love him,’ father says of Ottawa teen accused of killing mother
Christopher Gobin is charged with knifing to death his 49 year old mother last month in Orleans, an Ottawa suburb. His father Jacques hopes that the judicial process will bring to light the influence of and a resolution of the mental health issues behind the incident. “What I can tell you,” he said. “is that my wife, his mother, did love him very much.” http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/will+tell+love+father+says+Ottawa+teen+accused+killing/9816013/story.html
Winnipeg Free Press – James Turner
Winnipeg‘s child soldiers: A grim reflection of our failings
Turner identifies the basic dynamic of gang life: “Action prompts reaction: It’s not just a law of physics. It’s also part of the street gang ethos. You hit us. We hit you.” Read along and see why you can justifiably be shocked and outraged, about people “who have barely lived.” http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/blogs/turner/258392596.html Related article: KPBS (California) Megan Burks A Letter Parents Don’t Want To Get From The Cops: Your Kid’s In A Gang http://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/apr/28/gang-notification-letters-are-win-transparency-and (Link includes a 4 minute video)
RJ-on-line – Lynette Parker
Not the only one serving time
Here’s an interesting article about discoveries make by offenders who go through the RJ process and realize how they offences have impacted on others, particularly victims and family. The commentary highlights the impact of an incarcerated parent on a child. http://www.restorativejustice.org/mount/www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/not-the-only-one-serving-time
Nova Scotia Finance and Treasury Board
Police Reported Crime Statistics 2012
While the article is slanted towards Nova Scotia, the graphs presented here may be helpful to those in other provinces as well. The graphs are about police reported incidents, the frequency per population and the severity of crime. The information covers all ten provinces in an excellent series of comparative visuals. http://www.novascotia.ca/finance/statistics/archive_news.asp?id=8819
Human Rights Watch (US)
US: A Nation Behind Bars
A new report suggests that far too many laws violate basic justice by imposing disproportionate and severe punishment. The report makes a direct connection to the current practice of mass incarceration and the propensity for focus on minorities. The three decades old excessive practices have been a preferred way of fixing many social problems. “There is growing national recognition that disproportionately harsh laws are not needed to protect public safety and to hold offenders accountable for their crimes. To the contrary, community well-being is best served by fair laws and just sentences,” says Jamie Fellner, co-author of the report. The report includes five recommendations well worth putting at the forefront of all justice system policy in Canada as well. http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/05/06/us-nation-behind-bars Full report (A 21 page downloadable pdf): http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/related_material/2014_US_Nation_Behind_Bars_0.pdf