The CAVEAT - November 1993
What Do Victims of Crime Want?
Too often victims of serious violent crimes feel frustrated and betrayed
by the justice system, the very system they had always believed existed
to protect their rights. At a time of devastating pain and grief, many victims
and their families feel revictimized by a system that appears to show little
or no concern for their needs. All the programs, services and vast funding
are focused on the defendant, while little is offered to the victim, and
what is available is haphazard inadequate and underfunded.
The irony of the victim's position is apparent the moment a case enters
the legal system. All crime is perceived to have been committed against
the state. Crown attorneys prosecute for the state, not for the victims.
In court, the victim is simply a witness for the state. Victims can expect
to face vigorous and often humiliating cross-examination by the lawyers
for the defence, while the accused is not even required to testify at his
own trail.
Court delays only prolong victims trauma. They may take time off work, resulting
in loss of income, only to be told that a case has been postponed. Too often,
victims who fear for their personal safety are not even told when their
attackers are no longer in protective custody. At the parole hearing stage,
where there is a chance for release, the offender is allowed to speak, but
victims are not. The Parole Board identifies victims as observers, as mere
outsiders looking in.
Things don't get any better for victims when it comes to applying for compensation
from provincial criminal injuries compensation boards. Financial need must
be proven, but the process takes so long that emotional and economical hardship
is aggravated. In Ontario it can take up to one-and-half years for a hearing
to be scheduled, three months for it to be completed and another two months
before the cheque is issued. Criminal injuries boards seem blind to the
reality that crime victims who need financial assistance usually need it
immediately.
Compensation policies, particularly with regard to women who are not in
the work force, are arbitrary, insensitive and unjust: no income is equated
with no loss. The case of a claim for compensation in Ontario in the murder
of Ann Roche-Pirko, a young mother who was assaulted and killed in March
1990 is not untypical. Her killer was a previous inmate of an institute
for the criminally insane and a diagnosed psychopath. He was out on bail.
Ann's brother Glenn Roche made an application for compensation on behalf
of her children, two boys who were 5 and 6 at the time of the murder. But
the claim was rejected because Ann had been a full time student and not
earning an income. The fact that she was just one month away from completing
her studies and re-entering the work force was not taken into consideration.
In addition to training for a new career, Ann worked in the home and cared
for her children. According to 1992 figures from statistics Canada, homemakers
perform an estimated $10,143 worth of household labour a year, at a replacement
cost of $13,307. In family law, the work that woman do in the home is recognized
as a contribution that has financial value. Why is this not the case with
regard to criminal injuries compensation? This is a glaring incongruity
for a provincial government that places a huge emphasis on 'equity' for
women.
Even worse, a claim for pain and suffering was also rejected because the
board required psychiatric documentation proving that the children and the
family had experienced 'a degree of suffering above and beyond the normal
grief that surrounds the death of a loved one.' Criminal injuries compensation
boards should accept that, by the very nature of the crime, homicide causes
serious harm to the families. The board's inhumane response almost defies
belief.
Next, Glenn Roche turned to the Ontario Ombudsman, but the agency saw nothing
wrong with the guidelines of the criminal injuries board or with the fact
that the family was denied legal aid to help with its compensation case.
(Meanwhile the killer, who was subsequently convicted, was represented by
two lawyers paid for by legal aid.)
It wasn't until Glenn managed to obtain media coverage on CTV, that the
board agreed to hear the case in March of this year. In July, a decision
was finally announced: Ann Roche-Pirko's family would receive some compensation
on the basis that she had once worked; however because she was not employed
at the time of the killing, the board still refused to recognize that family
had suffered economic loss.
Why is it that so many victims of violent crime have to resort to media
attention in an attempt to get justice? What about the more vulnerable members
of society, those who are not strong enough or articulate enough to go to
the media? Who will tell their story?
What do victims of crime what? As Glenn Roche, now a vice-president of CAVEAT,
puts it, 'As victims, 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.'
Unquestionably, a bill of rights for victims of crime is long overdue. The
conventional wisdom has been that there isn't enough funding or that it
is too complicated because criminal justice is a federal responsibility
while victims services is a provincial issue. But consider this: if victims
had to be compensated for the real cost of violent crime, wouldn't the justice
system pay a lot more attention to preventing violent crime?
Lasting Living Tribute to Nina de Villiers
A rose garden planted in memory of Nina de Villiers was dedicated on
September 15 in a moving ceremony at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.
Nina was only 19 and just weeks away from her second year of studies at
McMaster University when she was murdered.
Following her death, there was an outpouring of emotion in the university
community, and contributions were received toward a scholarship fund and
expansion of an existing small rose garden at the centre of the campus.
The oval garden, surrounded by a wrought iron fence was created with contributions
from the university, its student council, the Health Sciences community
and private donors.
The solemn dedication ceremony, attended by the de Villiers family and about
a 1,000 friends and members of the university community, was marked by two
of the things Nina loved best: music and flowers. Choral music was provided
by the Hamilton Children's choir, and Richard Cunningham, who had been Nina's
singing teacher, sang his original 'Psalm 23,' a work he composed in memory
of Nina.
Priscilla de Villiers told the gathering that a garden could not be a more
fitting tribute to her daughter, who 'saw gardening as a way of finding
peace. She would dig, plant, prune and compost and come back refreshed.'
A garden, she added, would have been Nina's best birthday present. 'Nina
would have been 22 last week. Her previous best birthday present was a kitten
and a used guitar. A garden would have been beyond belief.'
McMaster president Dr. Geraldine Kenney-Wallace said, 'The garden will serve
as a living, lasting tribute to Nina and to the many others whose tragic
and untimely deaths have touched our hearts and our community.' Student
council president Jason Hunt told the gathering that 'the dedication of
this garden marks a beginning of a campaign to free our society of violence,
a campaign that will be as far reaching as the diversity of this campus.'
After the ceremony, guest were invited to tie white ribbons to the fence
in remembrance and hope for the future.
Food For Thought
Public Safety: A View From South of the Border
When it comes to approving a new drug, or a new pesticide, or a nuclear
power plant, no public risk whatsoever is acceptable to politicians, editorialists,
environmental groups and so forth. Yet when it comes to crime, public authorities
routinely release known agents of pain, suffering and death on an innocent
population. Justice Department figures show that almost two-thirds of the
criminals released from state prisons are arrested for a serious crime within
three years.
The slightest hint of any escape or radiation, and we go berserk. But criminals
can be dropped in our midst, and we don't bat an eye.
Source: Paul Craig Roberts. Scripps Howard News Service
CAVEAT News
CAVEAT In the Community
Speakers from CAVEAT continue to give talks to community groups and clubs,
professional associations and schools. In addition, we have also been invited
to participate in a number of conferences and forums on justice issues and
to provide input to government bodies on legal, justice and crime related
issues.
Last spring CAVEAT president Priscilla de Villiers and Glenn Roche made
a presentation on victims' rights to the justice committee at Queen's Park.
Treasurer Marion Standret and summer intern Pauline Rosenbaum travelled
to Rochester, N.Y., in August to represent CAVEAT at a three-day international
conference on assistance to victims of crime sponsored by the National Organization
for Victim Assistance. During the summer Priscilla de Villiers also attended
a meeting of the senior management of Correctional Services of Canada in
Ottawa and participated in the federal Ad Hoc Committee on Crime Prevention.
In September she took part in a panel on victims' rights at the annual conference
of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police in Halifax.
Events for Fall 1993
Sept. 30 - Justice For All: a public forum on victims' rights and proposed
changes to dangerous offender legislation at North York City Hall. Presented
jointly by CAVEAT, the North York Board of Health and Jim Stephenson, father
of murder victim Christopher Stephenson.
Oct. 7 - Voices on Violence: a public forum in Vancouver at the B.C. Institute
of Technology. Presented jointly by CAVEAT and Chris Simmonds, father of
murder victim Sian Simmonds.
Oct. 14 - Canadian Congress on Criminal Justice, Quebec City. Priscilla
de Villiers, presenter in a workshop 'Guns and their Victims.'
Oct. 15 Family Services Canada 1993 conference, Royal Connaught, Hamilton,
Priscilla de Villiers to participate in workshop: 'Families in Action: The
CAVEAT Story.'
Oct. 19 - CAVEAT Youth Week Proclamation. Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Chairman
Reg Whynott proclaims Oct. 25-29 CAVEAT Youth Week.
Oct. 25 - CAVEAT Youth Challenge '93, Hamilton Convention Centre, Hamilton,
Ontario. Hamilton Mayor Bob Morrow to proclaim CAVEAT Youth Week at the
opening.
Oct. 27 - CAVEAT Annual General Meeting, 6 p.m. at the Art Gallery of Hamilton,
followed by a reception for members and spouses or friends at 7 p.m., to
celebrate the launch of Fatal Mistakes by Kevin Marron.
Oct. 28 - Book Launch, Different Drummer Books and Doubleday Canada launch
Fatal Mistakes in Burlington.
Nov. 4 - Correctional Services of Canada Fall Workshop, Ontario region confenece
in Markham of the National joint committee of police and Corrections Canada.
Priscilla de Villiers to participate in workshop.
Nov. 10 - Auction for Action, 6:30 p.m., Temple Anshe Sholom, Hamilton.
Nov. 27 - Chris Pridham Invitational Tennis Tournament, 7:30 p.m., Cedar
Springs Athletic & Racquet Club, Burlington.
CAVEAT In the News
Our work continues to attract media attention locally and across the country.
Over the summer Priscilla de Villiers was featured on several Toronto radio
stations, CHFI, CHUM-FM, CFRB, and radio station Y95 and CHCH-TV in Hamilton.
She also appeared on the CTV program Canada A.M. and was interviewed by
Reader's Digest, Maclean's and the Globe & Mail. The story of CAVEAT
was featured on CBC-TV's Sunday Report. In September Jessie Smith, who heads
CAVEAT's education committee, appeared on CITY TV's Breakfast Television
to publicize CAVEAT's Youth Challenge '93.
CAVEAT Petition Update
The response to our petition calling for a more accountable justice system
has been overwhelming. Through their signatures, more than two million Canadians
have given us a mandate to voice their concerns about the justice system.
The petition will be presented to the new Parliament after the election.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to the many volunteers in communities across
the country who have devoted countless hours to spreading the word and collecting
signatures.
In Memoriam
Marjorie Tooth, 83, of Belleville, Ont., an original member of CAVEAT, who
died suddently last spring will remain as a symbol of what motivated the
founding of CAVEAT.
Touched by the tragic death of Nina de Villiers, Marjorie decided to help
soon after hearing about the CAVEAT petition. She called Priscilla de Villiers,
whom she had once met when the de Villiers family lived in Kingston, Ont.,
with an offer to collect as many signatures as possible. Armed with our
petition, Marjorie visited her friends, her church, the local media and
her Member of Parliament and encouraged them to join in her mission. Ultimately,
she successfully collected more than 7,000 signatures in the Belleville
area. We miss Marjorie, but we know that she will be with us in spirit when
we present our petition to the new Parliament later this fall.
Nina de Villiers Memorial Tennis Tournament
Eighty-six high school students from 15 schools from Oakville, Burlington,
Hamilton and St. Catharines participated in a day-long tennis tournament
last April in memory of Nina de Villiers. Nina's former tennis coach Blanka
Guyatt established the doubles tournament in Nina's name to involve students
from many schools in friendly competition. This year's tournament winners
were Jamie Gordon and David Markin.
CAVEAT Youth Challenge '93
The response to CAVEAT's Youth Challenge '93, a conference on violence
prevention and education, has been over-whelming. More than 700 students
- from Grade 8 to high school - and educators from 80 schools in the Hamilton-Wentworth
and Burlington regions will be taking part in this day-long program at the
Hamilton Convention Centre on Oct. 25.
'Our program focuses on how schools and the community can team up to provide
teens with the skills and resources they need to become advocates for a
safer, healthier society,' says Jessie Smith, who heads the CAVEAT education
committee, which has been organizing the event since February. 'The response
from schools has been excellent,' she adds, 'most of the schools we approached
wanted to send additional delegates.'
The Programs Highlights Include:
- A choice of 12 workshops that cover a range of issues including recognizing
abusive and controlling relationships, drug and alcohol addiction, street
safety, healthy sexuality, the glamour myth and the media.
- The presentation of CAVEAT Youth Awards to recognize young people who
have worked toward the prevention of violence through their school or community.
- With a generous donation from the Hamilton Foundation, CAVEAT is producing
an educational video for use in schools across Canada.
- CAVEAT president Priscilla de Villiers will lead a discussion with
educators on how schools and the community can work together in the area
of violence prevention and anti-violence education.
'Break the Silence', a 40-page booklet that provides an organizational
blueprint for violence awareness and prevention days for schools is now
available from CAVEAT. The booklet was based on a successful project organized
last year by teachers and students at Ancaster High School in Ancaster,
Ont. To obtain copies for your school or community group, contact CAVEAT.
Violent Young Offenders
by Kevin Marron
Violent crime by young people is an alarming problem that cries out for
solutions. But the issues are complex and viable solutions far from simple.
Government statistics have shown that violent crimes by youths have risen
steadily in recent years and have increased tenfold since the 1960's. Concerns
have been raised about the ages of youths who come under the Young Offenders
Act. Sex crimes by adolescents have also increased - by 20 percent over
a three-year period, according to one study. Assaults involving weapons,
sexual agression or personal injury may be statistically less significant
than minor assaults or the nonviolent property crime in which most young
offenders engage, but there is good reason to be concerned about the more
serious offenses - especially when apparently motiveless violent crimes
are committed by youths who do not seem to understand or care how much harm
they inflict on their victims.
A comprehensive study commissioned by the Ontario government showed that
deterrent sentences do not work well on young offenders since they tend
not to consider the consequences before committing crimes. The same study
did suggest, however, that the system needs to identify chronic and violent
offenders to involve them in intensive treatment and rehabilitative programs.
In some cases, these programs would work better if the more serious offenders
are given longer sentences or probationary periods. Recent amendments extended
the maximum sentence for murder to five years, but the federal government
is now proposing a five-year maximum for all violent crimes involving person
injury.
The recent amendments also made it more likely that courts will transfer
the most grievous offenders to adult court. Youths convicted of murder in
adult court will now be considered for parole after serving from five to
10 years of their life sentence. They will not necessarily be granted parole
at that point. But many youth court judges no longer feel that a transfer
to adult court automatically robs a young offender of all hope of rehabilitation.
The amendments also require that judges at transfer hearings give priority
to the interests of society over the needs of the young offender.
The Young Offenders Act now gives young offenders the right to refuse treatment.
Many mental health professionals and front line workers see this provision
as contrary to the public interest as well as that of young offenders, since
few teenagers will voluntarily seek help. Many professionals are also concerned
that they are not able to provide information about dangerous young people
because of the provision of the act which protects the identity of young
offenders.
Ultimately the solutions to youth crime may not lie in the law but in doing
something about problems like child abuse and poverty, family violence and
violent cultural stereotypes, poor schooling and inadequate mental health
services. It is important to understand the true dimensions of the problem
in order to come up with realistic measures that could protect the public
from a relatively small number of genuinely dangerous youths.
- Hamilton, Ont., writer Kevin Marron is the author of Apprenticed in
Crime: Young Offenders, the Law and Crime in Canada and of Fatal Mistakes,
the story of the events behind the murder of Nina de Villiers.
Fund-raising
CAVEAT is supported solely through the generosity and the efforts of
the community. This relects the commitment of people across the country
to work for a safer society. Our special thanks go to all the people who
have worked hard to organize our fundraising events and to all the individuals
and businesses who continue to support us so generously.
The diversity of our fund-raising events is as varied as the members of
CAVEAT itself. Jill Kronby and her committee have worked hard to make their
second Auction for Action, coming in November, even bigger and better than
last year's. Once again this year, Canadian tennis star Chris Pridham has
attracted major stars, including former Canadian champion Brian Gyetko and
tennis legends Vitas Gerulaitis and Roy Emerson, to his Invitational Tennis
Tournament and Auction, also in November.
Coming this spring is a CAVEAT evening at the theatre, organized by our
energetic fund-raising coordinator Maddie Goliger, featuring the Canadian
Stage Company musical 'Once on this Island', starring Salome Bey.
The money raised through such events remains our main source of revenue
and is essential to help CAVEAT continue its work. For futher information
on these and other events, contact CAVEAT.
Pitching in to help CAVEAT
The second annual Bell Canada Celebrity Slo-Pitch Classic last June attracted
an overflow crowd to Bernie Arbour Stadium, in Hamilton, Ont., and raised
more than $10,000 for CAVEAT. Special thanks go to all the celebrities who
made this such an outstanding event and especially to hockey stars Doug
Gilmour, Eric Lindros, the Tiger Cats, figure skater Elvis Stojko, Gerry
Mays of Bell Canada, Jeff Lumby and Lori Love of Y95 radio in Hamilton and
John Kernaghan of the Spectator. MVPs for the second year in a row were
organizers Fred Anderton and Ken Hadall.
CAVEAT Forum in British Columbia
Last January, in Langley, B.C., 19-year-old Sian Simmonds was murdered
by a stranger out on bail for attempted murder. On Oct. 7, Sian's father,
Chris Simmonds, together with a group of friends, hosted 'Voices on Violence',
the first forum in British Columbia in conjunction with CAVEAT. The more
than 350 people at the forum were told that the changes can only be made
if Canadians start the momentum for justice themselves. Deputy Chief Ken
Higgins of the Vancouver Police acknowledged that 'the system should be
more concerned for the rights of the victim,' as he described a Bill of
Rights for Victims of Crime proposed by the Canadian Association of Chiefs
of Police.
Chuck Cadman, the father of 16-year-old Jesse Cadman, who was stabbed to
death by a young offender in 1992, noted a case in the news that same week
which illustrated the problems of a justice system that fails to put protection
of the public first. Danny Perrault, a young offender convicted of manslaughter
for kicking a nearly blind 73-year-old man to death during a break-in, had
just been recaptured after allegedly sexually assaulting a woman while he
was a fugitive from the minimum security facility where he was serving his
sentence. 'With this single person we see the entire system fail,' concluded
Cadman.
Other panelists were Scott Newark, president of the Canadian Resource Centre
for Victims of Crime; CAVEAT's Priscilla de Villiers; John de Haas, president
of the Vancouver Police Union and Mr. Justice Wallace Oppal of the Superior
Court of British Columbia, who provided a rare insight into the judicial
process. We hope that other sitting judges will follow his lead so that
the public will become better informed about the justice system as a whole.
In closing, Chris Simmonds said that although violent crime has increased
over the past 25 years, 'our justice system is not able to halt this growth
or to provide the safety and protection to which we, the law-abiding public,
are entitled.'
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