A stitch in time....Conservative politicians and their supporters believe the way to deal with bad guys is to "lock 'em up and throw away the key." Typical is Alberta Justice Minister Brian Evans Brian Evans may refer to:
* called for a doubling of the maximum penalty for young offenders A young offender is a person of either gender who has been convicted or cautioned for a criminal offence. Criminal justice systems often deal with young offenders differently from adult offenders, but different countries apply the term 'young offender' to different age groups ; * tried to win support for U.S.-style chain gangs for convicts
A convict is a person who has been convicted of a crime. Convicts often become prisoners after a conviction. ; * said Canada is too soft on crime and wants parole eligibility cut; * directed Crown prosecutors Crown Prosecutors are the public prosecutors in the legal system of Australia. Crown Prosecutors represent the Crown in right of the Commonwealth and in right of each State or Territory in criminal proceedings. to ask for maximum sentences for violent and habitual criminals habitual criminal n. under the statutes of many states, a person who has been convicted of either two or three felonies (or of numerous misdemeanors), a fact which may increase punishment for any further criminal convictions. ; and, * come out in favour of the death penalty in extreme cases. Politicians such as Mr. Evans are also keen deficit cutters. As such, they ought to be enthusiastic supporters of crime prevention programs such as the one in the Netherlands. Some years ago, Dutch economists went to the Finance Minister with five-year and 10-year projections of the cost of conventional crime control - more police and more prisons - versus crime prevention. Jan van Djik, a senior Justice Department official says the Finance Minister looked at the numbers and became "a believer and a promoter" and a source of funds for crime prevention. But, despite compelling evidence that investing in crime prevention works better and is cheaper than hiring more police officers, conservative politicians continue to take the let's-get-tough-on-crime approach. |
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