Police want stiffer sentences; Gun-related crime on the rise

"Gun-related crime on the rise"

THIS in a country with gun registration? How can THAT be??????

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Police want stiffer sentences; Gun-related crime on the rise
Date: Nov 2, 2005 10:32 AM
PUBLICATION: The Telegram (St. John's)
DATE: 2005.10.29
SECTION: Metro/Provincial News
PAGE: A4
SOURCE: Special to The Telegram
BYLINE: Danette Dooley
PHOTO: GARY HEBBARD/THE TELEGRAM
ILLUSTRATION: Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Association president
TimBuckle (left) and Canadian Professional Police Association president
Tony Cannavino chat with reporters Friday.
WORD COUNT: 585

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Police want stiffer sentences; Gun-related crime on the rise across the
country

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As of Friday noon, the RNC was investigating no less than seven armed
robberies so far this week.

Of 88 robberies committed so far this year in RNC jurisdiction, 57
involved the use of a weapon. In at least some of those robberies a gun
was the weapon of choice.

According to the head of the Canadian Professional Police Association
(CPPA), if stricter sentences aren't handed down in gun-related
offences, this province may soon have a street gang problem on its
hands. It's a trend that's been happening across the country, said CPPA
president Tony Cannavino.

Cannavino is in town taking part in the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary
Association's (RNCA) annual general meeting.

"I don't think 10 years ago you were having that problem here because
this used to be a place that was so safe to live. But the way it's going
now, the next thing you're going to be facing is street gangs. You don't
want to see that in St. John's. I don't think so. You don't need to see
that in Newfoundland. So why don't we address that right away,"
Cannavino said Friday.

The way to address violent gun-related crimes across the country,
Cannavino said, is by passing Bill C-215.

The private member's bill introduced by Ontario Conservative MP Daryl
Kramp would amend the Criminal Code of Canada to require mandatory,
minimum prison sentences for serious gun offences.

The sentences would range from five to 15 years depending on the
severity of the crime. The additional sentence would be served
consecutively to the judge's sentence.

On Oct. 18, supporters of the bill presented at the Standing Committee
on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

The committee heard first-hand accounts of the rising gun violence
experienced across the country when representatives from Cannavino's
group, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the metropolitan
police forces of Toronto and Montreal made their presentations.

Cannavino was at the hearings. The bill is necessary, he said, to
protect police officers as well as the public. The challenge is to
convince the federal justice minister who, thus far, has not come on
side to support the bill.

"It's not a Toronto issue," Cannavino said of gun-related crime.

"We see it more and more in major cities, urban violence and gun-related
street gangs. We have to address it very rapidly because it is an
important issue and good citizens are getting killed or shot at because
of street gangs."

RNC officers from the Avalon Peninsula, Labrador West and Corner Brook
are attending the association meetings.

RNCA President Cst. Tim Buckle said in addition to welcoming Cannavino
to the meetings to inform his members about national issues, the
meetings are also covering other issues faced on a daily basis by
rank-and-file members in this province.

High on that agenda is top-up pay for officers injured on the job and
receiving Workers' Compensation benefits. According to Buckle, under the
current legislation, members injured while performing their duties lose
about 20 per cent of their take-home pay.

"Police officers are the last line of defence in the community," Buckle
said.

"Anybody can be assaulted at anytime in the workplace, but in any other
workplace they call the police. But, when we respond we have to deal
with the situation. We don't have the option of calling anybody else."

Upcoming contract negotiations was also discussed at the meetings. The
RNCA's contract with the provincial government expired more than a year
ago. While not prepared to discuss in public what the association may
look for this time around, a salary increase is something his members
will definitely seek when sitting down at the table with the government.


"We know that over the past 10 or 15 years our salaries have floundered.
We're substantially behind other police forces in Atlantic Canada. And
we've fallen substantially behind the RCMP who work along side us in the
province," Buckle said.