Fight clubs are illegal but police rarely take action

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This article was published 21/01/2010 (5711 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IS a fight club illegal if people have consented to the beating?

A section of Canada’s Criminal Code makes prize fighting illegal, however, University of Manitoba law professor Debra Parkes said police don’t press charges very often.

The law states a prize fight is when there’s “an encounter or fight with fists or hands between two persons who have met for that purpose by previous arrangement made by or for them.”

The maximum penalty is a fine of $5,000 and six months in jail. Boxing matches put together by athletic boards or commissions are exempt.

Parkes said money does not have to change hands for the fight to be illegal.

She pointed to a 2007 Nova Scotia case where police laid charges against a 24-year-old man after street-fighting videos surfaced on YouTube.

Police are not investigating the University of Manitoba incident, a Winnipeg Police Service spokeswoman said.

Sanjeev Anand, professor of law at the University of Alberta, said breaking up fight clubs usually isn’t a top priority for police.

“They consider this almost a consensual crime.”

Even if police do get a tip about a fight club, Anand said investigating and laying charges is not easy.

“Most of the actions of the police are reactive, not proactive, so you need a complaint from the public triggering the investigation,” he said.

“If they become aware of it, they can go and investigate … Even then, police would have to find witnesses, willing individuals to come forward to testify.”

It’s not the first time fight club allegations have come up in Manitoba.

— Gabrielle Giroday/The Canadian Press