Vancouver Justice System: How are we doing so far?

Photos

BC Justice System, how are we doing so far?

see larger image

uploaded by Barry ORegan

This morning British Columbia taxpayers were treated to another fine example why crime and lack of punishment meted out by our British Columbia Justice system shows serious flaws rising to a level of incompetence beyond belief.  Not just by the current Liberal government, but the previous government before them. 

Two brothers in which one shot the other, with a police investigation uncovering a cache of drugs, bulletproof vest and other assorted criminal activity, results in credit for time served, a year or so in jail and a finger wag by the courts not to do it again. 

Somewhere, someone has been smoking and or injecting the seized drugs, clearly it doesn't seem to be the criminals in this case. 

Below is an excerpt of the Vancouver Sun story, in which a clear case of incompetence rules supreme;

" Scott Joseph Turner, 28, was sentenced to one year for possessing an unregistered loaded nine-millimetre semi-automatic Glock pistol, which carries a minimum one year punishment and a maximum of 10 years, and another year for possessing cocaine and methamphetamine for trafficking, which carries a maximum life sentence. Both sentences are to run concurrently.

Turner pleaded guilty to the offences. The sentence was effectively a three-year prison sentence, reduced to one years after the judge accepted the joint submission of the Crown and defence to give Turner double credit for the 12 months he served in pre-trial custody.

Police were called to an East Vancouver home on April 1, 2008, where officers found Turner's brother with a gunshot wound.

A search warrant was later executed on Turner's home, an 18th-floor apartment in downtown Vancouver, where police found the Glock handgun and $138,000 worth of drugs: more than one kilogram of cocaine valued at $101,000, 39.53 grams of crack cocaine with a street value of $4,000, 336 grams of methamphetamine with a street value of $33,600, 1,496 pills of ecstasy with a street value of $14,960; and seven pounds of marijuana with a street value of $31,780. "

Clearly another case where a thorough house clearing of the British Columbia Justice system needs to done, and done pronto.  Notwaithstanding, a province that can impose the maximum sentence on the books, ignores all logic time and time again eventually releasing a criminal of violent means back on the streets to do it all over again.

Once released, who is to protect the public from any criminal bent on ensuring your demise, either by drugs of violence?  

While issues such as recall of MLAs from office over the HST reigns supreme with voters, certainly a recall of government and MLAs ignoring and not expressing outrage over the BC Criminal justice system to allow crime to run rampant and governments failure to protect the taxpaying public seems less important, unless the crime affects a BC resident personally.

Something is seriously wrong with our priorities when the HST brings mass outrage, yet a human life destroyed by drugs is severly devalued by a few HST dollars taken out of the taxpayer's pocket.  

We are a cold, uncaring province.

Merry Christmas, and a lump of coal for everyone.