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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