Tough on Crime
The Conservatives won a majority partially on their promise to get tough on crime.
It’s hard to argue against getting tough on crime. As a lawyer practicing criminal law, I thought we were pretty tough on crime already. Just how tough is tough enough? And just how smart is getting tough on crime, particularly in the face of growing evidence that increasing incarceration rates does not lead to a reduction in crime?
Mandatory minimum sentences are just one part of the Conservative government’s proposed omnibus criminal law legislation. Under the proposed legislation, anyone convicted of growing as few as five marijuana plants would face a minimum six month jail sentence. That seems like a harsh punishment to me, particularly considering prevalence of marijuana use and the ongoing debate about decriminalizing the simple possession of marijauana.
Basically, the Conservative government plans put more people in jail for longer periods of time and build more jails to do this, at an estimated cost of 5 billion dollars. I can think of better ways to spend the money. As a society we should take pride in low levels of incarceration rather than see them as a sign of being soft on crime. Crime rates are falling, and we live in one of the safest countries in the world. Do we really need to put more people in jail?