Sad. Too bad. Unbelievable. Things have gone badly off the rails. Nobody knows what to do because criminals keep repeating as long as they are allowed to remain at large.

We badly need *Three Strikes And You Are In.*

*In* meaning in the no frills slammer, for good.

Untill we realize that bigger jails are not the answer the crime rates will increase. Crime is a social problem and untill we look at it from that perspective we will never solve the problem or even reduce our crime rate.
Cheers

Correct. It is a social problem. Criminals don't fit in with the rest of society. Hence, they should be kept away from society until they can prove that they can fit in.

I'm sick and tired of hearing all of the excuses for the behavior of some of these people. I know a lot of people that were not raised in wealthy homes with two parents that loved them and etc. that turned out just fine.

Until the criminal decides to stop being a criminal, he/she will be a criminal.

The "do-good social problem" attitude will never work. A hard handed approach is needed for this problem to be solved. Unfortunatly it seems that the "social engineers" are running the bus, and that is why it is out of control. We need to go back to "an eye for an eye,tooth for a tooth" method to straighten out this mess.

While they are locked up they can be given the option either to change their anti-social criminal mindset or stay locked up.

In the meantime we will all be a lot safer.

Obviously the present system does not work.

Being less than wealthy does not excuse criminal behaviour, just like being wealthy does not.

Tougher laws and sentences do not work. I see our neighbours to the south are no better off with such laws.

People in poverty class do not have excuse for crime the same as the wealthy people do. The big difference is that the wealthy have a sense of noblesse oblige which they feels entitles them to being above the law. If you don't think that's true ask yourself why a guy like Conrad Black isn't sitting in a normal jail with the murderers, drug dealers, and child abusers, all of whom are just as despicable as he is.

Right, we need a hard-handed approach and do things like they do in the good ol' US-of-A where they enact more laws, arrst more citizens and then incarcerate them, build more prisons and contract them out to the private sector so they can be run more efficiently (read: "no frills") and once we do this, no more problems, right? Heck, there's far less crime south of the border, eh? Wait, what's that? They actually have more crime down there? Hmmm, maybe we should think this through.
First, tougher sentences for crimes of passion (murder, aggravated assault, sexual assault) do not make a wit of difference: people simply do not stop to think about possible consequences before they act out their aggressive impulses. Second, crime rates almost always rise when the economy tanks, indicating that socio-econimic factors definitely play a major role despite what Giterdun and the other flat-earthers say. As for social engineering, last time I looked, the current brand of social engineers is the Conservative Party, who are always pounding the tough-on-crime pulpit.
If you're going to toss off acusations of "social engineering" at least get your facts straight!

Do all these numbers mean we are still #1!?

Locked up at PGRCC ?? 3 good meals, no work, exercise equipment ! No private rooms as double bunked. Unlimited visits. Drug dealers with money buy phone cards thru the canteen and have unlimited access to the phones and their criminal buddies on the outside ! They just carry on business from the security of PGRCC instead of their hangout. Nothing more than an inconvenience for the criminal !

sounds to me like Boon was in PC up the hill and is offended

James, that was an absolutely ignorant comment of a person you know nothing about.

There are some persons incarcerated that should not be there. The Courts have been wringing their hands for years over what to do with persons with mental disorders, and for those people, nothing worsens their disorder like a jail. Our government has yet to take the right step and open a few more Psychiatric Centers to supervise these folks and until they do, us ordinary citizens have to deal with it.
Boon, believe you're right, too easy on those folks.

Just because they have a mental disorder doesn't mean they aren't responsible for their crimes. They are just as dangerous, even more so and they should be locked up.
Colony farms in coquitlam has some of the most dangerous people who have committed henious crimes but are found to have mental disorders. Keep em there.