[Newsbot]

Title: Why the Vancouver rioters won't be punished
Category: Law & Order
Posted By: andyt
Date: 2011-07-09 12:13:29
Canadian

[martin14]

Social media took care of what we all knew the courts would not.

[Thanos]

Alleged "law-and-order" conservatives and liberal limp-wristers alike, especially among local and provincial politicians, have a nasty habit of trimming police and judicial system budgets down to the bare bone when no one's paying attention to them. Here in Calgary the police have done a terrific job over the last several years in clamping down on the organized gang problem. Local politicians are exploiting the police success in getting rid of gangs by using it as an excuse to cut the police budget because "what do you need that all money to fight gangs for? we don't have any gangs here" is one of the sickening hypocritical twists they like to spin. There's no win here for anyone at all, except for the criminals themselves and for the goddamn careerist politicians who can now attach the thoroughly phoney "cost cutter/deficit buster" label onto their resumes to fool the rubes with in the next round of elections.

[andyt]

As the article says, in BC it's a problem of cutting the court system - sherrifs, judges, legal aid, etc.

Rioters will be processed by a justice system hobbled by judge, sheriff and prosecutorial shortages and a legal-aid system that no longer meets even basic needs, according to a recent report. “Justice will not be swift,” adds criminologist Robert Gordon, of Simon Fraser University. “This will be a long, drawn-out process.”
A week before the riot in fact, five Vancouver trials were ordered shut down after judges deemed courtrooms unsafe to proceed due to a shortage of sheriffs. More than 2,000 criminal cases, meanwhile, are at risk of being quashed over delays. In the past year, a range of cases, from drunk driving to drug dealing have been tossed because it took up to two years to get to trial. “It takes 12 to 18 months to get a single-day trial in Vancouver right now,” says criminal lawyer Michael Shapray. “What will happen if police suddenly lay 300 criminal charges? How are you going to find the judges, sheriffs and prosecutors for this?”

Right wing cost cutting at it's best. Save now, pay later

[Thanos]

Toss in as well a lot of left-wing anti-police bullshit that invariably erupts into a full-blown crucifixion anytime a perp gets their feelings hurt during an arrest. This sort of nonsense has gotten so ridiculous over the last few years that it's practically insane. I'd bet during the riot there were more than a few officers who were quite happy at being told to hold back because that way, even if a billion dollars of damage occurred, they wouldn't be held out as the scapegoats by left-wing politicians and left-wing media in case (oh noez, poor babby's) any of the merry and fun-loving rioters had gotten a few bruises.