Vigilantism: the public is getting frustrated at a criminal justice system that many feel is too lenient on law-breakers

More than 250 angry people attended a rally in Prince George, B.C. just before Christmas last year. A jury had just found Wayne Sullivan not criminally responsible for fatally shooting his wife Maureen. Many carried placards with the message: "Kill a moose, go to jail. Kill a woman, out on bail." The rally is an example of something that's happening more and more frequently in Canada these days. Law - abiding citizens have come to believe that criminals get all the breaks in our justice system and their victims get none.

Just ask the people in Moser River, Nova Scotia. For years, the residents of this small community 150 km up the coast from Halifax have been terrorized by a gang of young toughs. About a dozen local men graduated from troublemaking to vandalism, robbery, and assault. The people of Moser River complained that they received nowhere near enough police protection and that the justice system was too lenient on criminals. Donald Findlay tried to do something about it, and it may have cost him his life.

Several times, Mr. Findlay confronted the gang and one night his house was sprayed with bullets. Later, his truck was involved in an accident with the gang's car. Mr. Findlay was convicted of dangerous driving and sentenced to 14 days in jail. Two hours after entering prison to begin his sentence, Mr. Findlay was beaten to death. Wade Fleet, an inmate of the prison and from the Moser River area, has been charged in the crime.

But, it seems it took Mr. Findlay's death to persuade the RCMP to station an officer in Moser River.

Similar problems have been cropping up elsewhere in the world. The peace and calm of the village of Dickleburgh, England was shaken by a series of robberies. Duncan Bond, who had been robbed several times, was sure 17 - year - old Gavin Last was to blame. Frustrated by a lack of police action, Mr. Bond and a friend kidnapped Gavin Last. They threatened to douse him with gasoline and set it on fire before they released him 20 minutes later. Gavin, who said he was not involved in the robberies and was not among those arrested for them, was badly shaken.

Police arrested the two kidnappers and they were both given five - year jail sentences. There was an enormous howl of protest from the public, newspapers, and even politicians. Everyone except the judge felt the two men were somewhat justified in taking the law into their own hands. Eventually, the sentence was reduced to six months. There has been a spate of vigilante incidents in Britain and, in almost all cases, the public has cheered on those carrying them out. And, soft treatment of offenders is why the cheering is so loud.

One gang of youths has six members in it, each of whom has been arrested more than 20 times for such things as car theft and burglary. All were released with only minor punishments or none at all. So, next time around, when the police catch them in the middle of some mischief or other they don't bother laying charges to save themselves a pile of useless paperwork.

Stanley Kalms is the chairman of Dixons, an 800 - shop chain of electronics stores in England. Last year he spoke at a police conference. He complained that his company had 10,000 recorded incidents of theft, violence, and fraud in 1992. These yielded a total of just ten convictions. Mr. Kalms called for vigilante groups to be given semi - official status to protect store owners from thieves.

Politicians have been quick to pick up the public's mood. During the last federal election campaign, all the major parties came out with tough law - and - order planks in their platforms. Conservative Public Security Minister Doug Lewis even went as far as telling judges to "get real and get a grip. It's about time we started passing sentences that the police and the public could be more supportive of. Right now that is not the case."

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES:

1. The Reform Party has proposed making parents responsible for crimes committed by their children. Do you think this would have any effect on reducing the level of crime among young offenders? Discuss.

2. Through class discussion, write a charter of rights for the victims of crime. You might want to compare your charter with one adopted by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.

Copyright Canada and The World Feb 1994
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