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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Time to probe probation
(DALE CUMMINGS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)
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Justice Minister Andrew Swan's spirited defence last week of probation officers' wide discretion in monitoring youth in the community was weakened Tuesday amid revelations a serious young offender was allowed to walk free of his court-ordered ankle bracelet. Winnipeggers are worried about the probation system's ability to keep the public safe.
Mr. Swan says probation officers must exercise professional judgment. True, minor breaches -- late for school, late for checking in with a probation officer -- should not launch an offender back into jail.
There may also be a disconnect between whom the courts and probation services regard as best candidates for ankle bracelets. An inveterate offender is unlikely to be deterred by a bracelet that apparently is easy to remove -- Mr. Swan has told a legislative committee two youths removed bracelets four times each.
But they can't work, in any case, if they're not used. In the most recent case of a failure of probation services to enforce court-ordered conditions of release, a young offender landed repeatedly back in jail and each time he was released in the community without the tracking device a judge had insisted he wear. This year, while on probation, the youth invaded a North End home, where a man was beaten up.
Mr. Swan has announced another review, this one to assess what went wrong. The probation officers' union says the problem lies with a system incapable of keeping up with demand. There are up to 12,000 outstanding warrants in Manitoba but jails are overloaded (see commentary elsewhere on this page). The union concludes there aren't enough jail cells to hold offenders.
It is equally true that without effective enforcement, it is futile for courts to impose conditions upon release. Further, the Justice department does not analyze who is breaching, how seriously and how many on probation commit new crimes.
Mr. Swan and his NDP predecessors insist it is the Youth Criminal Justice Act that is the problem. Absent good analysis, Manitobans can't have real confidence in that assertion. Mr. Swan's immediate concern should be to find out if probation officers have lost faith in both the law and the system.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 28, 2010 A14
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