VICTORIA — More arrests are “futile,” British Columbia’s attorney general says as he rebuffed criticism of government policies on repeat offenders and violent crime across the province.
Murray Rankin told the legislature on Tuesday that increasing arrests is not the answer to battle crime.
His statement comes despite a recent government-commissioned report citing police and probation officers saying repeat offenders “are emboldened to continue offending, deteriorating community confidence in the justice system.”
The minister said the New Democrat government is focused on resolving the issue of violent crime, but concentrating only on arresting more people won’t work.
“We are committed to ending the cycle of reoffending and keeping people from becoming offenders in the first place,” said Rankin. “Simply arresting people out of the situation we know is going to be futile. We need to do so much more and that is what we’re doing.”
He said the government is considering a range of options to keep people safe, including consulting widely with communities, law enforcement officials and mental health and addictions service providers.
Rankin said placing people under arrest for alleged crimes is part of the justice process, but not the primary function of the system.
“It’s a necessary but not sufficient response to a problem that’s extraordinarily complex,” he said.
Opposition Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon told the legislature the government’s ongoing “catch-and-release” policy where repeat offenders are quickly freed from custody despite being accused of violent crimes has created fear for residents in cities from Vancouver to Terrace.
“Criminals emboldened by the lack of enforcement of this government, and four violent random attacks in Vancouver every single day,” he said.”Most recently a young woman in Vancouver followed into her apartment, thrown on the ground and assaulted by a young man. Just the other day.”
The Vancouver Police Department said in an Oct. 3 news release that bystanders stopped a stranger attack on a 29-year-old woman in the lobby of her downtown apartment.
The government’s own commissioned prolific offender report released last month cites incidents of violent crime throughout B.C., and frustrations of law enforcement officers arresting alleged criminals only to see them back on the streets.
The report cited an unprovoked machete attack last July on two people in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. It also included a report of an unprovoked attack in July of a man who violently knocked down a woman and a toddler.
The report by former Vancouver deputy police chief Doug LePard and Amanda Butler, a criminologist specializing in mental health and addiction, made 28 recommendations.
The report said police enforcement, aggressive prosecution and longer sentences won’t address the problem of violent crime, but also says official crime statistics may not provide an accurate picture of crime trends in B.C.
The report states: “In Terrace, the mayor and a councillor reported, ‘The stats don’t tell the truth. Crime isn’t going down. It’s the worst it’s ever been. People aren’t reporting because there’s no point because they’re out so fast.’”
Falcon said the government has the power to direct Crown prosecutors to detain more people accused of violent crimes, but it has not taken that measure.
Rankin said he is travelling to Ottawa in the coming days to meet with federal Justice Minister David Lametti to address the crime issue.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2022.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — New Zealand won the Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time, beating South Africa by 32 runs on Sunday after a standout performance from Amelia Kerr with bat and ball.
South Africa’s chase was held to 126-9 in 20 overs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in reply to New Zealand’s 158-5 in the final of the 18-day tournament.
South Africa was also seeking to become a first-time champion.
After South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and opted to bowl, Kerr top scored for New Zealand with a 38-ball 43. Brooke Halliday hit 38 runs in 28 deliveries and opener Suzie Bates scored 32 in 31. Nonkululeko Mlaba took 2-31 in four overs for South Africa.
South Africa made a strong start to its chase, reaching 51-1 in 6.5 overs but never really threatened afterward, reaching the halfway stage of its innings at 64-3.
Wolvaardt top scored for South Africa with a 27-ball 33.
Kerr took 3-24 in her four overs, including Wolvaardt’s wicket.
This was South Africa’s second straight final appearance in the tournament. Losing to Australia by 19 runs, it had finished runners-up in its home tournament in 2023, its best result in the tournament.
New Zealand, meanwhile, reached the tournament final for the first time since 2010. In the first two editions – 2009 and 2010 – it had lost to England by six wickets in London, and to Australia by three runs in Barbados.
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday canceled his trip to Russia for a BRICS summit after an accident at home that left him with a cut in the neck, his office said.
The 78-year-old leader was scheduled to attend a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies in the city of Kazan from Tuesday to Thursday this week.
Hospital Sirio Libanês in Sao Paulo said in a statement that the leftist leader was instructed not to take long distance trips, but can keep his other activities. Doctors Roberto Kalil and Ana Heleno Germoglio said they will regularly check on Lula’s recovery.
Brazil’s presidency said in a separate statement that Lula will take part in the summit by videoconference and will continue his work in capital Brasilia this week. It did not disclose details about what caused the president’s injury.
