1998

In Our Opinion: Young Offenders

• CAVEAT recognizes that youth crime has many causes.
• CAVEAT encourages a complete re-thinking of the Y.O.A.
• CAVEAT believes that in addition to early intervention, there should be a greater willingness to treat serious and repeat young offenders as adults.
• CAVEAT believes the minimum age should be lowered from twelve to ten years of age to ensure intervention before more serious criminal tendencies develop.
• CAVEAT favours a more rigid institutional Œstreaming' of young offenders.
• CAVEAT believes that extensive and innovative programmes for young offenders is badly needed in many parts of the country.
• CAVEAT supports a comprehensive and integrated information system amongst police and service providers.

In Our Opinion: DNA Typing

• CAVEAT strongly supports the development of a national DNA data bank.
• CAVEAT recognizes that there are serious privacy issues involved and the collection and storage of DNA information.
• CAVEAT opposes a pay-for-service system to finance the DNA data bank.
• CAVEAT cautions that the use of DNA is not a panacea for the investigation and prosecution of crimes.

In Our Opinion: Section 745.6

• CAVEAT opposes judicial review of parole ineligibility and calls for full repeal of s. 745.6. Reconsidering sentences in an administrative setting undermines the integrity of the criminal trail and sentencing process.
• CAVEAT recognizes that s. 745.6 may be here to stay. If it is not repealed, the substance and procedure of this provision must reflect more adequately the seriousness of the crime and address more fully the needs of victims.

In Our Opinion: Criminal Harassment

• CAVEAT supports legislation designed to address the broad range of behaviours which constitute stalking, and amendments to stiffen penalties for convicted stalkers.
• CAVEAT is concerned about the potential abuse of stalking legislation.
• CAVEAT requests more stringent enforcement of Criminal Code s. 264 (criminal harassment).
• CAVEAT proposes preventative measures for convicted stalkers.
• CAVEAT proposes legislative amendments to explicitly permit court orders for restitution of expenses incurred by victims of stalking.

In Our Opinion: Name Changes

• Those who have served their time and are no longer a threat to communities may, arguably, have some legitimate reasons for changing their name. However, at the very least, law enforcement records (criminal records) must be updated automatically to keep track of this information. Those currently serving time, whether in custody or released on parole, should not be able to change their names. We support the recent changes the government of Ontario has made and see this initiative as a start, however, it does not prohibit prisoners and parolees from changing their names and it is not retroactive.

In Our Opinion: Conditional Sentencing

• CAVEAT feels that a conditional sentence is inappropriate for crimes of violence. CAVEAT believes that the fundamental purpose of sentencing is to contribute to respect for the law; one of the fundamental principles is that a sentence must be proportionate to the gravity of the offence.

1997

745 Amendments Now Law

• CAVEAT has the following concerns about changes to s. 745; one murder is deemed less serious than multiple murders, no real changes to the way the early review process is conducted has been implemented, applicants' absolute right to a hearing has been replaced with another level of bureaucracy with an absolute right to apply for a hearing, process continues to make families of victims relive the murder and continue to costs taxpayers.

Is the stalking law working?

• Studies indicate that offenders will, in the large majority of cases, be let off with no penalty and that even if they are convicted, the justice system will impose only a mild rebuke.
• Lawyers, judges and the police have to be educated to see stalking as a serious offence.

Legislation governing the release of Information

• The Corrections and Conditional Release Act clearly places the offender's right to privacy ahead of the victim's right to information.

Are victims' Bills of Rights merely empty rhetoric

• Ontario's victims' rights legislation states victims should have access to certain information but there are no guarantees. CAVEAT questions if victims' bills are therefore merely empty rhetoric?

Judicial Review of Parole Ineligibility (Criminal Code s. 745.6)

• the substance and procedure of s. 745.6 must reflect more adequately the seriusness of the crime and address more fully the needs of victims. CAVEAT approves of some of the recent changes to s. 745 as a step in the right direction. We believe that the clear distinction between single and multiple murderers is misguided, it implies that one life is more valuable than another and secondly, many of those eligible have committed extremely brutal acts of cruelty and murder.

Conditional Sentencing and What are our Jails For?

• CAVEAT supports conditional sentencing for non-violent offenders. CAVEAT favours an amendment to s. 745.6 which will automatically identify those convicted of crimes against the person as a "danger to the community". Restricting the use of conditional sentences affirms the paramountcy in criminal law of protecting human life and also provides general deterrence for violent offenders.

DNA

• CAVEAT strongly supports the development of a national DNA database. CAVEAT recognizes that there are serious privacy issues involved, however, legislation should not overly restrict the ability of law enforcement officials to investigate crimes. Legislation should allow investigators to obtain and compare DNA after arresting a subject in order to enhance the ability of police to properly investigate crimes and prevent serial offenders released on bail from running for fear that, upon conviction for one offence, they may be linked to other offences. The costs should be shared equally between the federal and the provincial/territorial governments, not by individual police departements. CAVEAT cautions that the use of DNA is not the panacea for the investigation and prosecutio of crimes.

Young Offenders

• CAVEAT encourages a complete re-organization of the Young Offenders Act. CAVEAT believes that in addition to early intervention there should be a greater willingness to treat serious and repeat offenders as adults. The minimum age should be lowered from twelve to ten years of age to ensure intervention before more serious criminal tendencies develop. CAVEAT believes that extensive and innovative programs for young offenders is badly needed in many parts of the country.

Stalking

• CAVEAT supports the direction Parliament has taken with legislation designed to address the broad range of beahviour which constitutes stalking. Amendemnts to stiffen penalties for convicted stalkers are also welcomed. CAVEAT requests more stringent enforcement of Criminal Code s. 264 (criminal harassment). CAVEAT proposes preventative measures for convicted stalkers. We propose legislative amendments to explicitly permit court orders for restitution of expenses incurred by stalking victims. CAVEAT opposes the reduction of government funding to battered women's shelters and programmes. Without these services, victims of stalking are more vulnerable to physical and psychological threats.

1996

Capital Punishment

• CAVEAT feels people should decide for themselves.
• We feel that our time is better spent on less inflammatory and more straightforward issues within the Justice system. We do not want to lose important resources, both time and money, on this issue when we could be devoting ourselves to more constructive and clear-cut solutions in other areas (i.e. s.745)

745 Amendments pass 3rd Reading

• new amendments aim to prevent serial killers from being allowed to apply for early parole.
• CAVEAT supports the amendments and sees them as a first step towards full repeal of s. 745.

CAVEAT protests possible cuts in Ontario Crown Attorneys

• CAVEAT accepts the financial realities facing our province and recognizes the need to cut government spending. However, the financial initiatives that are being considered in the Crown Attorney System show a naiveté and lack of intelligent planning which flies in the mandate that we, the taxpayers, gave to our elected government, that they make the best possible use of our tax dollars.

It's 11 o'clock: Do you know where your parolee is?

• CAVEAT is disturbed by a recent study, carried out by the United States National Institute of Corrections, which shows that offenders often disappear from their homes and that electronic monitoring often fails to ensure public safety.

The Drunkenness Defense

• if people consume alcohol, they should be responsible for their actions while under the influence. To suggest that an individual can consume alcohol, but not be responsible for their actions is ludicrous.
• CAVEAT does not suggest that it is impossible for people to drink themselves into a state where they do not know what they are doing, however, the law must protect the public from those who do drink to uncontrollable limits.

Inquiries and Inquests: Campbell Report Mandates Information Sharing, Again

• CAVEAT questions how many inquests and inquiries do we need to hold in order to see the whole picture?
• Public Safety must be addressed as a whole, not in compartmentalized sectors that are often oblivious to each others' activities.

Multiple Killers Need Not Apply

• CAVEAT acknowledges that the federal government's amendments to s. 745 are a step in the right direction, however, it is only a first step towards our ultimate goal of full repeal of s. 745.
• Criticisms: no change to the review process itself, jury still has little information about the crime committed, full details and impact of crime are not presented for consideration

Changes to Early Parole Law Promised by Rock

• murderers should serve the full sentence handed down by the judge at the trial when all evidence was put before the jury.
• CAVEAT demands swift and committed action by the government with regards to Bill C-234 (formerly C-226), it has been stalled in Parliament since 1994.

Ontario to get victims' Bill of Rights?

• CAVEAT appreciates the intent of the legislation, however, we are interested in action, not just words. The goal of parity of victims' rights with those of the offenders' still has not been realized.

A Deal with the Devil

• the conflict between plea bargaining and society's need to denounce crimes of violence must be reconciled.
• The failure on the part of the Crown to involve the victim in the plea bargaining process has removed a very important step in the healing processor the victim. This participation has provided empowerment and therapeutic benefits for the victim and has served public interest by lending legitimacy to the practice through the victim's voice.

Victims' groups unite to demand "Life means Life"

• under the auspices of CAVEAT, victims and victims' groups held eight simultaneous press conferences across Canada on November 30, 1995 to demand that the Federal government take the next step and repeal s. 745 of the Criminal Code.

Stalking Legislation to be Reintroduced

• Bill C-119 would make being under a restraining order and aggravating factor in a stalking conviction.
• CAVEAT believes the Bill would reinforce society's condemnation of this most serious of offences.

Ontario announces victim notification system

• development of a new computerized victim notification system that would permit victims of crime to access various types of offender information, however, it is limited.
• CAVEAT hopes this plan is simply a precursor to a larger, fully integrated system for victims that will allow them to access court dates, release dates etc.

1995

Drunkenness: Ticket to Rape

• how do we protect ourselves from someone who voluntarily drinks himself into a state of irresponsibility?
• Many thousands of dollars are spent on education and public awareness programs in an effort to prevent drinking and driving. Drinking and driving is illegal, and the punishment is tough. How can the justice system state that extreme drunkenness is a valid defence against a conviction of sexual assault, but administer draconian sentences for convictions of extreme drunkenness while driving a car, even if the driver has not caused an accident or death.

Section 745: A 40% Discount on Life

• Bill C-226, calls for removal of s. 745
• CAVEAT will monitor the progress of this Bill to ensure that it doesn't stay at the committee level.

Sentencing

• sentencing for violent offenders must reflect the severity of the crime
• violent offenders should serve appropriate sentences
• sentences for multiple offences should be served consecutively
• full sentence given must be served
• need for consistency in sentencing
• need to think not only of rehabilitation but public safety, punishment and deterrence

Gun Control and Public Safety

• CAVEAT supports the registration of firearms as a first step in promoting public safety; it defines the legal ownership of firearms, establishing a definition of illegal possession; it is the first step in a systematic violence prevention strategy.
• CAVEAT proposes stiffer penalties be consistently applied for the criminal misuse of firearms, mandatory, increased sentences for using a firearm during a commission of a criminal offense.

Review and analysis of section 745 of the Criminal Code of Canada

• CAVEAT believes that offenders should have to serve their time from the date of their conviction, and for that purpose of any kind of early release, this date should be the effective date for the calculation of time already served.
• CAVEAT believes that in terms of sentencing, "life should mean life". Logically following this, life, without eligibility of parole, or life without parole for 25 years should mean what they literally say.

The Bernardo Trial

• CAVEAT has launched a postcard campaign calling for the repeal of s. 745. We believe that first or second degree murderers should serve the full sentence as handed down by the original judge in the case when all the evidence was put before the jury.
• CAVEAT is pushing for changes to Dangerous Offender legislation so that applications can be made more efficiently, more often, and at any time throughout a sentence if it is determined that the offender continues to be an extreme threat to public safety.
• CAVEAT is calling for al full inquiry into the plea bargain with Karla Homolka.
• CAVEAT questions the demand of the media to obtain access to the videotapes, as they constitute violent, obscene pornography against children.

The Death Penalty in Canada

• Nothing, including the return of capital punishment will ease the pain that society is feeling following the double murder trial of Paul Bernardo. Nothing will provide retribution for the indignities that Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French had to endure at his hands. The return of capital punishment is not a preventative measure that has the clout its name suggests. Many more significant changes, other than capital punishment, are necessary to ensure public safety.

Mobilizing the Community

1994

"Parole: Freedom not Licence"

• Priscilla de Villiers; "A system that lacks legal legitimacy in the hearts and minds of those it is to serve and protect will not long endure. Protection of the individual against the tyranny of the majority is a valid objective. However, of at least equal validity is the protection of the majority from the tyranny of the individual."

Parole

• Victims should be able to speak at parole hearings, if they so desire and be allowed to participate the same as the offender.
• Victims have a right to be able to be notified of prisoner's location, any and all release dates, any and all applications for early release.
• Victims should be able to get a copy of the parole board decision (reasons for their decision lead to accountability).

Youth & YOA

1993

Stalking

• the terror and potential for tragedy caused by stalking has long been underestimated. It's not considered an indictable offense. We would urge an amendment to the Criminal Code to ensure protection for victims from their sadistic tormentors.

Releasing Offender's Name

• branding someone with the mark of Cain goes against the very tenets of our society. However, the action is a clear indication of the erosion of confidence in the will or ability of the courts and the justice system to protect society form dangerous sexual predators with a long history of anti-social behaviour.

Killer Trading Cards

• glorification and commercialization of crime presents violence as an acceptable form of entertainment, allowing criminals to profit from the pain and suffering of others
• the Obscenity Clause 163(8) has to be amended to address this issue

"What Do Victims of Crime Want?"

• Glenn Roche (vice-president CAVEAT at the time) "What we are really asking for is simple justice in the form of parity with the offender in the legal system. We expect nothing more and should not have to accept anything less.

Violent Young Offenders

• solutions to youth crime may not lie in the law but in doing things about child abuse, poverty, family violence, education, poor education and inadequate mental health services.
• the true dimensions must be understood in order come up with an effect solution to protecting the public

1992

"The New Sentencing Bill" (C-90)

• applaud two things; the inclusion of the statement of purpose and provision of alternative measures
• criticism: nothing in the Bill deals differently with victims of crime, it's a basic repeat of the existing provisions