Kenney announces plan to get tough on rural crime

LAC STE. ANNE COUNTY (660 NEWS) — United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney announced an ambitious plan to tackle rural crime rates, in a campaign announcement outside Edmonton Wednesday.

Citing statistics stretching back to when the NDP took power in the last election, Kenney says government policies have led to an increase in crime in remote communities.

He added there are large increases in auto thefts, sex offences, robberies and assault crimes.

“This isn’t just about rural Alberta, although it is hitting rural regions hardest,” said Kenney.

His 15-point plan will address issues such as repeat offenders, a lack of provincial prosecutors, and getting criminals wanted on outstanding warrants transported back to Alberta from another province.

Another major point, as Kenney already previously announced, is the creation of an Alberta Parole Board — independent of the Canada Parole Board.

“We’re tired of so many repeat offenders going through the revolving door of the justice system, back out on the streets, creating new victims and we believe that an Alberta Parole Board would do a better job of emphasizing public safety.”

Ontario and Quebec also have their own independent boards.

Kenney adds rural property owners and especially vulnerable to crime, and this relates to a couple of factors in his plan.

Firstly, he thinks offenders in rural areas should be sentenced more harshly than offenders in urban centres.

“Basically, if a criminal is clearly targeting people who live in a remote area because of their vulnerability — that should be considered an aggravating factor in their sentence,” said Kenney. “Folks who live in rural areas an hour or 90 minutes away from police response are uniquely vulnerable and that should be considered in the sentencing of those responsible for terrorizing rural families.”

Secondly, he wants property owners to be given more leeway in using reasonable force on suspected offenders.

“Why would you turn up somebody’s life for having done what they had to do reasonably to defend themselves, their life and their property and then you end up victimizing the victim? It’s not right. We need to let rural Albertans in particular know that they do have the legal authority under the Criminal Code to use reasonable force in self-defence.”

Kenney referenced the 2018 case of High River resident Eduoard Maurice, who faced charges for shooting a suspected robber on his property. Those charges were withdrawn by the Crown.

An increase in drug treatment courts is also included, as Kenney acknowledges a link between rising drug addiction rates in Alberta to the rising crime rates.

“There’s very clearly — according to the police and prosecutors with whom I’ve spoken — a link between the opioid crisis and the crime wave.”

He added there will be more announcements from his party in the near future about plans to tackle the addiction crisis as well.

Some other featured points in the plan are $10 million to fund 50 new prosecutors and staff in the province, calls for the federal government to hire more Court of Queen’s Bench justices, $20 million for Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT), and pass an Alberta version of Saskatchewan’s Clare’s Law, which gives people the opportunity to request police for any past instances of domestic violence on a partner’s criminal record.

Overall, Kenney said this is the most comprehensive criminal justice reform ever proposed for Alberta.