Dangerous offenders (R. v. Gaudry).

Alberta Provincial Court Judge Chisholm recently ruled on a case where the Crown made an application for a repeat offender to be classed as a dangerous offender. The man in question had 37 convictions in the last 15 years, 18 of which were violence related. Even while in jail, he managed to make harassing telephone calls and send threatening letters. A psychologist called by the Crown said that this was one of the worst cases he had ever seen and characterized him as a persistent re-offender for whom there was likely no effective treatment. The judge allowed the application. He stated that the primary and overriding purpose of the dangerous offender provisions is the protection of the public, and because of this, the importance of sentencing objectives such as rehabilitation, deterrence, and retribution are greatly diminished. The judge also noted that the accused continually reoffended, even when he was in jail or on probation. Because of these factors and the fact that the accused refused to admit that he had a problem, the judge decided that he was very likely to reoffend and continued to be serious risk to the community. The accused was classed as a dangerous offender and given an indeterminate term in jail.

R. v. Gaudry, July 18, 1996 Alberta Provincial Ct. Edmonton Alberta