Community courts that can impose both treatment options and punitive measures for offenders with mental health and/or drug abuse problems could be effective in curbing rampant street crime in Vancouver, a new report says.
Released last week by the B.C. Justice Review Task Force, the report recommends ‘wrap-around’ services as a way to deal with the social and health issues of chronic offenders in downtown Vancouver.
Donald Brenner, Chief Justice of the B.C. Supreme Court and a member of the task force, told a news conference that a relatively small number of chronic offenders are responsible for the majority of property crime, which puts a significant burden on the criminal justice system.
“We found street crime is a growing problem which, if unchecked, has and will continue to erode public confidence in the justice system,”
Chief Judge Hugh Stansfield of the Provincial Court of B.C., a member of the task force, holds up Brooklyn and Manhattan as example of areas where street crime has been minimized thanks in part to community courts.
He said the courts would have a broad range of sentencing options, including rehabilitation and jail or a combination of both, but with an emphasis on repayment to the community for harm done.
The goal is to have the court operating by 2007 in a building that would also offer a host of social services specifically for dealing with drug addiction and mental health.
“The idea is that justice is swift. If someone pleads guilty to a drug crime, they are sent that day to be assessed for a rehab program,” said Stansfield. They don’t leave the building--the service is in the same building as the court.”
The task force said community courts help break the cycle of repeat offending by tackling the underlying causes of most street crime: drug and alcohol addiction and mental illness—problems that are not solved through conventional sentencing and jail time.
In order to be considered for rehabilitation, the offender must plead guilty and have a desire to deal with his/her addictions or mental health issues. Between 35 and 40 offenders with mental illness appear in provincial court in Vancouver each day, tying up the court system.
Street crime is usually defined as disturbing the peace, shoplifting, break and entry and theft from vehicles. It doesn’t include violent crimes such as sexual assault or murder, organised crime or commercial crime. The cost of property crime in Vancouver reached a staggering $121 million in 2003, with $60 million of those losses attributable to vehicle break-ins and theft. An estimated 4,000 drug users live in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver where much of the street crime originates and spreads to other areas.
Constable Tim Fanning, media liaison officer with the Vancouver Police Department, says the police have had some input into the report and have already been using this approach with the Chronic Offenders Program--a key part of which is making submissions to the court on the background of repeat criminals and the resources needed to help them break the cycle.
“Ultimately what we’re after here is to try to get some help for these people that commit most of the crime,” says Fanning. “Eighty percent of the crimes are committed by about 5 percent of the criminal population. These are people who wake up every morning and have to go out and commit crime to support their habit.”
Both Premier Campbell and Attorney General Wally Oppal support the idea of community courts. Though it is not known yet how much the government would be willing to contribute, the judges acknowledged that such an initiative could require a large investment in social programs.
“It would seem that this is a good opportunity for politicians to help the community they’re there to serve, by helping to implement this and make sure that it works,” says Fanning. “We’re fighting social issues that have become criminal problems.”
The Justice Review Task Force, which was established by the Law Society of B.C., has undertaken extensive studies on street crime since March of last year.
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