Justice for crime victims crucial

THE EDITOR: We cannot address crime unless we also address the imperative of delivering justice for the victims of crime. Innocent blood spilled onto our soil cries out to Heaven for an accounting. The lack of consequences emboldens killers and inspires ever more wanton acts of criminal behviour by all. Furthermore, if justice is not forthcoming, then revenge becomes the norm. And, of course, we spiral into a vortex of savagery.

The police are trying, but they need training in the most effective interview and investigative techniques. What evidence is needed to prove a case in court? How does an officer set out to find such evidence and elicit pertinent information from suspects and witnesses? All scientific tools need to be utilised in the cause: blood-spatter evidence, DNA profiling, crime-scene reconstruction, forensic analysis, et al.

Policemen must view themselves as professionals. Just as with doctors, their ability to do their jobs well can mean the difference between life and death to citizens. They must be tenacious in their investigations, not give up on getting their man simply because one or the other roadblock is thrown up against them. They would need to use all their creativity and initiative to find what works to combat criminality in their neck of the woods, not sit around waiting for a directive to come down from on high. The lament of "Nothing came of it" by victims and their families must be a thing of the past.

But, even when officers fulfil their mandate at the very highest level and arrest persistent felons with illegal weapons in hand, these miscreants are disgorged back onto the streets poste haste to continue to wreak havoc on society.

Recently, the Privvy Council ruled and now murder, along with every other crime, is bailable. We are encouraged to trust in the discretion of the judiciary to grant or not grant bail. Unfortunately, on the evidence, it appears that the judiciary never denies bail to anyone charged with possession of an illegal firearm.

In fact, quite recently Customs discovered automatic weapons in a barrel that arrived from abroad. A woman pleaded guilty in this case and was fined, then was promptly allowed to return home free as a bird. These are the guns that spread terror across our land, killing two or three people at a time and having the potential to do much more damage.

In a Canadian province, anyone found in possession of an illegal firearm is subject to mandatory jail time. We all admire how safe Canada is. Any bets on such a law passing here? Certainly not in the current climate of political impunity which excuses and justifies even the most egregious sin against the population.

It is said that the restriction of bail is now unconstitutional. However, as I understand it, our Constitution protects certain of our rights. If, as in the case of the recently defeated bail bill, we seek to impinge on any of these rights, it would require a special majority vote of both Houses of Parliament. How could we be absolutely precluded, under any and all circumstances, from passing laws that contravene the Constitution, which in itself came into being as a creature of our own making?

I think we sometimes forget that we are governing ourselves. If we want to live in a just, crime-free society, we have to build it ourselves. Not just we, the Government. We, the Opposition. We, the judiciary. We, the policeman. We, the citizen. If we do not govern to benefit ourselves, we will remain consigned to this morass that we ourselves have created.

JOANNE K JOSEPH

San Fernando