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When is the Budget not a hot searchA.G. PROPOSES OVERHAUL OF PAROLE SYSTEM
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VICTORIA -- When the people lose confidence in the institutions and underpinnings of democracy, astute politicians hear the alarm bells go off.
Attorney General Brian Smith has heard one of those bells ring loudly, and the message he got was that the people are losing confidence in the judicial system. He didn't waste much time analyzing the problem. Instead he prepared and released a discussion paper, detailing his ideas on how to make the system better.
The topic of the discussion paper is parole, what's wrong with it and how it can be improved. It's a solid position paper that should provide a great deal of food for thought to federal authorities who are in control of the parole system. It should also bring some solace to victims of crime and their families whose frustration and loss of faith in the judicial system gave rise to the discussion paper in the first place.
It's evident from the report that Smith got an earful when he travelled to 25 communities throughout British Columbia last fall to launch the Victim Assistance Program.
"As I listened to people's stories about what had happened to them or to their family members and friends, it became increasingly obvious to me that they were expressing not only their distress and anger at the crime that was inflicted on them, but also their outrage with our justice system, a system which to them seemed to be both indifferent to the victim and incapable ofdispensing justice in a way that made sense," Smith says in his report.
A lot of the stories people told him had to do with parole. People were wondering why dangerous criminals were allowed out on parole, often to commit new crimes within days of their release. Smith was a good listener.
He proposes a complete revamping ofthe parole system. Some criminals, his report says, should never be paroled. Those who are should have to earn their parole. And earning the privilege to parole, he stresses, takes more than just being a model inmate.
"The individual must have consistently worked to improve and change himself, and there must be documentable evidence that he has done so," Smith says.
"Moreover, the offender must continue to earn the privilege of being on parole each and every day he is on parole. For me, this involves things such as hard work, remorse for what has been done, and a tangible desire to make amends to the victim and the community," he says.
Smith says he suspected that the public had some serious doubts about the present parole system, but wasn't prepared for "the overall anger and frustration directed against our criminal justice system."
The attorney general doesn't want the parole system scrapped. He says it is necessary and just to have a system which can provide hope and impetus for positive change to those who have been incarcerated.
"Let me be equally clear, however, that I believe some people, especially those who have committed serious violent crimes, should never receive parole, no matter how well they behave in prison," the attorney general says.
"The safety of the community must be the overriding factor in deciding whether to release an inmate on parole."
The present system allows for two types of parole ©© day parole and full parole. Inmates on day parole are allowed to work in the community but must live under supervision in a prison or approved half©way house. Inmates on full parole are free to live and work in the community but must report regularly to a parole officer.
Federally-appointed parole boards decide whether a prisoner is granted parole, and that's where the system breaks down.
In too many cases, inmates are able to dupe parole boards into believing that it is safe to let them out on parole. Smith wants the parole mechanism to become more fool-proof.
Smith believes no inmate should be granted parole, unless he can satisfy four criteria: one, he must pose no threat to the community; two, he should only be granted parole if it is in the spirit of the original sentence; three, he must earn his parole; four, parole must take into consideration the impact it will have on the victim.
The discussion paper is just what it says a report submitted to the public for discussion. Smith wants the public, especially victims of crime, to get involved in the final draft of the report which will eventually be sent on to Ottawa.
Any inputshould be sent to Brian R.D. Smith, Attorney General, Legislative Buildings, Victoria, B.C., V8V 1X4.
