Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My name is Clive Weighill and I am the chief of police for the city of Saskatoon. I'd like to thank the committee for allowing me to provide testimony today.
Youth crime, with its possible solutions, is a very serious and much debated issue in Saskatchewan. Although there has been a national trend showing reductions in youth crime in recent years, Saskatchewan has a serious problem related to criminality involving youth. The latest Canadian Centre for Justice statistics comparisons for 2008 clearly show that the youth crime rate is significantly higher in Saskatchewan than in any other province. The rate of youths charged in Saskatchewan sits at 9,255 per 100,000 population, aged 12 to 17. This is double the rate for the next closest province, Manitoba, with a rate of 4,692 per 100,000 population. By comparison, Saskatchewan has almost four times Ontario's rate of 2,718 per 100,000. In real numbers, not rates, Saskatchewan, with a population of only one million people, has charged 8,052 young offenders, compared to British Columbia, with 5,343 young persons charged out of a population of 4.5 million.
To say the least, the practitioners working in the criminal justice system in Saskatchewan have a solid grasp of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. There are positive aspects to the current act and, correspondingly, several problematic areas.
I provided testimony before this committee on March 30, 2010, and I think at that time I shared with the committee that I'm certainly a believer in social justice. I'm not one who believes that you lock people up and throw away the key. Those days are long gone. At that time I suggested to the committee that the primary reason for gang involvement in Saskatchewan is the marginalization faced by the aboriginal population in our province. A large percentage of the aboriginal population is living in poverty and poor housing, facing racism, the continued fallout of residential schools, and a restrictive Indian Act. I further suggest that in Saskatchewan the prevalence of youth crime is primarily predicated on the same factors.
Although marginalization and required social changes help explain the high numbers of youth coming in contact with the criminal justice system, I speak today of the young person who has gone past the entry level and has become entrenched in a lifestyle of criminal activity. As with most crime, the rule of thumb is that 5% of the population creates 95% of the problem. Once people are into a criminal lifestyle, they may be past preventative stages in their lives and they may have become hard core. It is about this 5% that I will direct my comments today.
As a general rule, the Youth Criminal Justice Act does an excellent job in assisting the police with diversion, official warnings, and holding youth accountable. It is within the small 5% of offenders that are habitual repeat and/or violent offenders where I believe changes in the YCJA are required.
As a case in point, recently in Saskatoon a young offender, aged 17, and an adult, aged 18, were arrested for allegedly committing 40 random street robberies and several home invasions while armed with a machete and a handgun. It is alleged that in one evening, leading to their arrest, they shot a 17-year-old male while robbing him on the street, causing the victim to be paralyzed from the chest down; they committed a home invasion, robbing eight people; and they slashed the leg of a street robbery victim with a machete. They are not from the marginalized cohort mentioned earlier; they are from middle-class families.
Other cases in point include the following. Youths engaged in gang activity and committing random street robberies allegedly stabbed a victim to death while stealing a case of beer. Youth and adults stabbed a victim 26 times because the victim made a derogatory comment. Youths involved with stolen autos are continually being released after being charged, only to reoffend and continue their actions in numbers in excess of 40 stolen vehicles. This is known to the community as revolving door justice.
I must stress that it is this type of crime and victimization that I make my comments about today, not the 95% of cases handled suitably through the YCJA.
I fully support some of the amendments contemplated by Bill C-4. In many instances, a message of deterrence has to be sent to the habitual offender. Violent crimes all have victims.
Society must be protected from those individuals who commit planned, violent crime, even if the individual committing that crime is a young person. Events such as those involving the young man mentioned earlier, who is now paralyzed, and the man who lost his life over a case of beer taken during a street robbery are not uncommon in Saskatoon.
I agree with the principle found in the current act that pre-trial detention of young offenders in general is a last resort. I do not agree with this, however, when the youth is a habitual property or violent offender. There comes a time in everyone's life when they must become accountable for their actions, and the protection of the general public must be taken into consideration. To continue releasing a habitual offender causes society to lose confidence in the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, when the public loses confidence in the system, it may attempt to force draconian remedies on the entire youth criminal justice system, thereby also penalizing the youth who could utilize the positive aspects of this act.
I take this point even further. We continually see the use of intimidation by gang members in attempts to prevent witnesses and victims from testifying or assisting the police. The acts of intimidation often include pointing a firearm at someone, assaulting someone using physical force, or threatening to use knives and machetes. This intimidation severely compromises the ability of the criminal justice system to protect witnesses and victims. Protecting witnesses and victims so that they may testify safely without intimidation is a cornerstone of our justice system. I believe an intervention is required to prevent violent and habitual offenders from inflicting further harm.
I support Bill C-4 with the notion that a young person's prior findings of guilt and pending charges should be taken into account upon pre-trial release, specifically when the offender has reached the age of 16 or 17. I also support the recommendation in Bill C-4 in relation to releasing the name of a young offender if she or he has been convicted of a violent offence and the prosecutor convinces the court there is substantial likelihood the young offender may commit another violent offence. In fact, I believe it should even be taken one step further. In cases where the police are actively attempting to apprehend a violent young offender who is believed to be a real danger to the public, his or her name could be released in an effort to warn the public of impending danger or assist with a timely apprehension. Once again, this would be used only when a youth had reached the age of 16 or 17.
In relation to sentencing, I do not support the recommendation for the use of extrajudicial sanctions at the time of sentencing. In Saskatoon, we document all extrajudicial measures and sanctions in an effort to guide our officers when they come into contact with a young offender. For instance, a youth may be caught committing a minor mischief offence and be taken home by the police to his or her parents for them to provide proper direction to the youth. Later, the youth might be caught shoplifting and receive an official police warning rather than a criminal charge. Both of these instances are captured in our data banks and will be used when determining whether criminal charges should be laid if the youth commits further offences.
I believe the extrajudicial sanctions are useful for determining charges but not for sentencing. I suggest that only a criminal record based on court findings should be used. Extrajudicial measures and sanctions are a cornerstone of the YCJA and are used only in minor occurrences. They would not be a major factor in the cases of violent or habitual offenders of which I speak today.
I have no comments in relation to the recommendations pertaining to raising youths to adult court or whether they should be placed in a youth or adult detention facility in extreme cases. I have no background in corrections, and I suggest corrections people could provide more clarity on this topic.
Once again, I thank the committee for allowing me to provide input on this issue, and I'll certainly be open to any questions.