The Harper government was warned in an internal report earlier this year that many Canadians believe the criminal justice system is under-funded, too many young people are not being punished properly and jails are turning petty thieves into more "sophisticated" criminals.
The report, submitted in March to the Conservative government's influential central agency - the Privy Council Office (PCO) - was based on public opinion research conducted to gauge Canadians' views on key issues.
The government hired Harris/Decima, at a cost of $127,076, to do a national survey of 2,000 people and to hold focus groups at six places in January.
The findings help explain why Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government has continually portrayed itself as tough on crime in a bid to gain political support from Canadians.
But the results also reveal a disconnect between the public's perception of crime and actual trends.
On Tuesday, as Harper met with Toronto Mayor Rob Ford to discuss gang violence and the spate of shootings in the country's largest city in recent weeks, Statistics Canada released data that show the national crime rate fell by six per cent in 2011 to its lowest level in decades.
Still, Harper made it clear Tuesday that he considers it a priority to attack the problem of gun crime in Canada. He spoke of how his government is spending millions to block illegal guns from being smuggled into Canada at the United States border.
He said his government has invested in programs to encourage young people to turn their back on guns and gang activity. And he noted that Parliament is now considering a bill that would make it easier for the government to deport non-citizens who engage in criminal activity.
The renewed focus on crime this month comes after Harper's government received a blunt assessment from Har-ris/Decima on how Canadians view the justice system.
A final report revealing the findings of the focus groups was posted only recently on a government website. It reveals that the economy, unemployment, health, trade diversification and education are considered "top priorities" by Canadians.
Although crime was not identified initially as a top priority, the pollster found that once the issue was raised, people expressed strong opinions.
"Across the country, many believed that the incidence of crimes like break and enter, property damage, gang-related crime, robbery and white-collar crimes like fraud are on the rise," said the report.
"At the same time, many also believed that violent crimes like murder and sexual assaults are remaining about the same or are on the decline."
The report revealed that there is a "widespread belief" that the criminal justice system is "too under-resourced" - particularly in terms of dealing with youths who engage in robberies.
"The system is seen as being not as stringent on young people, particularly in regard to property and related crimes, leading to indifference to the potential implications of criminal activities among that demo-graphic. Most believed that the criminal justice system needs to be more stringent.
"There was a prevailing belief that the justice system is over-whelmed with cases, police enforcement is lax for all but the most severe crimes, and these conditions allow for more people 'getting away' with crime, more loopholes, more plea bargains, and more dismissed cases."
Still, the report found that Canadians are worried the jail system is "contributing to the problems of crime as much as being a remedy for it.
"Many believed that jails are places where petty criminals learn how to become more sophisticated criminals and that for many, going to jail is not a worse place than they live when they are on the outside."
Original Article
Source: vancouver sun
Author: Mark Kennedy
The report, submitted in March to the Conservative government's influential central agency - the Privy Council Office (PCO) - was based on public opinion research conducted to gauge Canadians' views on key issues.
The government hired Harris/Decima, at a cost of $127,076, to do a national survey of 2,000 people and to hold focus groups at six places in January.
The findings help explain why Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government has continually portrayed itself as tough on crime in a bid to gain political support from Canadians.
But the results also reveal a disconnect between the public's perception of crime and actual trends.
On Tuesday, as Harper met with Toronto Mayor Rob Ford to discuss gang violence and the spate of shootings in the country's largest city in recent weeks, Statistics Canada released data that show the national crime rate fell by six per cent in 2011 to its lowest level in decades.
Still, Harper made it clear Tuesday that he considers it a priority to attack the problem of gun crime in Canada. He spoke of how his government is spending millions to block illegal guns from being smuggled into Canada at the United States border.
He said his government has invested in programs to encourage young people to turn their back on guns and gang activity. And he noted that Parliament is now considering a bill that would make it easier for the government to deport non-citizens who engage in criminal activity.
The renewed focus on crime this month comes after Harper's government received a blunt assessment from Har-ris/Decima on how Canadians view the justice system.
A final report revealing the findings of the focus groups was posted only recently on a government website. It reveals that the economy, unemployment, health, trade diversification and education are considered "top priorities" by Canadians.
Although crime was not identified initially as a top priority, the pollster found that once the issue was raised, people expressed strong opinions.
"Across the country, many believed that the incidence of crimes like break and enter, property damage, gang-related crime, robbery and white-collar crimes like fraud are on the rise," said the report.
"At the same time, many also believed that violent crimes like murder and sexual assaults are remaining about the same or are on the decline."
The report revealed that there is a "widespread belief" that the criminal justice system is "too under-resourced" - particularly in terms of dealing with youths who engage in robberies.
"The system is seen as being not as stringent on young people, particularly in regard to property and related crimes, leading to indifference to the potential implications of criminal activities among that demo-graphic. Most believed that the criminal justice system needs to be more stringent.
"There was a prevailing belief that the justice system is over-whelmed with cases, police enforcement is lax for all but the most severe crimes, and these conditions allow for more people 'getting away' with crime, more loopholes, more plea bargains, and more dismissed cases."
Still, the report found that Canadians are worried the jail system is "contributing to the problems of crime as much as being a remedy for it.
"Many believed that jails are places where petty criminals learn how to become more sophisticated criminals and that for many, going to jail is not a worse place than they live when they are on the outside."
Original Article
Source: vancouver sun
Author: Mark Kennedy
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