Punishment or prevention?

One of the most important skills a politician can have is knowing exactly the right time to hop onto a passing bandwagon. The let's - get - tough - on - crime bandwagon was passing last summer and it was an easy one for politicians to climb on to. All during the election campaign, Canadians heard a lot about the need to protect law - abiding citizens from villains. For most, the solution to crime on our streets was simple -- toss the wrong - doers in jail and throw away the key.

The focus is on punishment because that's an easy one to sell to voters. But, in the long haul, it doesn't work very well. If it did, the Middle Ages would have been a crime - free period of history. There were scores of offences for which execution was the standard punishment. Fairly minor crimes could lead to being branded or having a hand cut off. One poacher in Germany was sewn into a fresh deer hide and thrown to the dogs in Salzburg's market square. He was torn to pieces.

Did the prospect of so horrible a death stop poachers? No. Nor did it stop robbery, murder, or any other criminal activity. In fact, despite the hideous penalties, crime was far more common 500 years ago than it is today when we are, supposedly, "soft" on the bad guys.

So, maybe there's some other factor at work. Most people who take the trouble to look behind the headlines say there is, and it's called social conditions.

MP Tom Wappel sat on the justice committee of the House of Commons. Last year, the committee issued a report that calls for Canada to adopt a crime prevention strategy that focuses on battling the social causes of crime. After hearing from hundreds of witnesses across the country, Mr. Wappel summed up the committee's findings: "There are definitely people who will continue to commit crimes no matter what you do for them. But, there are others who turn to crime because they have a low self - esteem brought about by not having a job, the breakdown of their family, or some other social condition."

At present, Canada has no national crime prevention strategy. Sure, there are Neighbourhood Watch programs, and the police give talks to school groups and service clubs, but there's no co - ordinated approach to trying to stop crime from happening. Our method of dealing with crime is to wait for it to happen and then try to catch the culprit.

Dr. Carol Matusicky, who has been active in crime prevention in British Columbia, says this simply doesn't work. "What weare recommending," she says, "is a shift from costly and ineffective rehabilitative programs to early intervention. Several international studies have shown the effectiveness and cost - effectiveness of this approach."

Copyright Canada and The World Feb 1994
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