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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Hells' demon
There is no such thing in Canada as criminal guilt by association, although some of the post-9/11 anti-terrorism laws get pretty darn close to that idea. The Criminal Code's provisions for taking a peace bond against members of a criminal organization, such as the Hells Angels, toe close to the line, but require a judge to find sufficient evidence that any whose civil liberties are to be clipped were party to crimes in the making.
That complies with the legal tradition of requiring evidence of criminality, rather than mere suspicion a defendant is up to no good. It is how Winnipeg police and federal prosecutors, having evidence from phone and text interceptions, nabbed numerous Hells Angels and associates recently. Some were charged, others released on peace bonds, under which they agreed to stay away from bikers and a string of other conditions that constrain their liberties.
The belief is the crackdown, the exercise of the Criminal Code's provision for peace bonds against those planning crimes to the benefit of a criminal organization, has all but gutted the Hells Angels enterprise in Winnipeg. That would be a good thing, as long as it is executed in accordance with law that respects fair rights of an accused.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 12, 2012 A10
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