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Sere ea ers

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a sitar SAD ETIS NOSE aa ah ung Rares

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- lows:

This is the third of a series of
three articles on crime in the

_» greater Terrace area, based on

an address to the Terrace and
District Chamber of Commerce

* by Insp. Larry Yeske, officer-in-

charge of the Terrace RCMP
detachment, and interviews with
Insp. Yeske by Terrace Review
reporter Tod Strachan,

In Terrace over the. past four
years, the vandalism statistics
look like this: In 1988, there

‘were 616 incidents, in 1989

there were 505, in 1990, 514,
and last year to the end of No-
vember, there were 595 incidents
of vandalism.

The cost of vandalism in the
first 11 months of 1991 has been
estimated to be around $15,000
for incidents where the damage
was greater than $1,000, and a
total of $300,000 for all 595
incidents that occurred to the

end of November. And you pay .

for this. Hither through higher
insurance premiums or an
inflated price at the checkout
stand.

It should be noted that the
number of incidents listed above
includes hit-and-run where it
cannot be proven who caused the
damage. But a great number of
the vandals are young offenders
who often have nothing better to
do, and the penalty for the crime
may or may not be severe
enough to act as a deterrent.

The criminal code as it applies
to adult offenders reads as fol-
Section 430(2) states:
"Everyone who commits mis-
chief that causes actual danger
to life is guilty of an indictable
offence and liable to imprison-
ment for life." .

Section 430(3) states: "Every-
one who commits mischief in
relation to property of a value
which exceeds one thousand
dollars: (a) is guilty of an indict-
able offence and liable to im-
prisonment for a term not

exceeding ten years; (b) is guilty
of an offence punishable on
summary conviction."
And Section 430(4) states:
"Everyone who commits mis-
chief in relation to property,
other than that described in

subsection (3): (a) is guilty of an |

indictable offence and liable to
imprisonment for a. term not
exceeding to years; (b) is guilty
of an offence punishable on
summary conviction."

Most often, vandalism causing
less than $1,000 in damage is
dealt with by summary convic-
tion and the penalty is a fine
and/or up to two years in jail.

These penalties can be applied §

to young offenders, but most
often they are not. If you're

younger than 18 and older than {|

12, the judge considers the
severity of the crime and then
chooses one of a number of
options. He can offer an absolute
discharge if he decides it is in
the best interest of the young
person. He can levy a fine to a
maximum of $1,000. He can
order restitution to the victim...
If the offender can pay.

The judge also has the option
of ordering the offender to offer
his personal services. to. . the
victim. Or he might levy a sen-
tence of a specified number of
hours doing community work.
He can detain the offender for
treatment, or order a period of
probation for up to two years.
Or if the offence is serious
enough, the judge can order a

' jail term of up to two years.

‘In the event the offence carries
a life sentence in adult court, the
judge can increase the length of
confinement. But Young
Offenders Act states that the jail
term can be no longer than three
years.

If the offender is 14 or older,
and the judge is of the opinion
the offender poses a threat to
society, the matter can be raised
to adult court. If this is done, the

Bay Sr ME ee A ee Em de bee on

Nailing down the respc

‘Vandalism is a serious crime,
and we take it seriously.’
Insp. Larry Yeske

Wilful damage, like the shellacking given this sign of welcome ¢ on the western edge ot
Terrace in June, often seems to be'a victimless crime, but the overall cost is paid by society
in numerous ways that add up to a significant penalty, both economically and socially.

youth would face the same pen-
alty as an adult, but it is rarely
done,

"I find it rather ironic," Yeske
says, "that at 16 this young adult
can quit school, drive a car...
But he’s not really judicially
responsible for his actions."

There..is..a:.serious problem. in
provincial law as well. In June
1974, the provincial government
decided to abolish warrants of
committal. In other words, if you
are fined for a violation of a
provincial law, and don’t pay the
fine, there is nothing the police

or courts can do, There is no jail

sentence attached to a default of
payment.

"Now what that means," says
Yeske, “is that there is no effec-
tive penalty for speeding or
liquor offenses (other — than
impaired driving, which falls
under the Criminal Code). There
is no real penalty,"

And as a result, "Of the tickets
issued, only about 40 percent of
the people pay. Usually, it’s the
honest people." You do have to

Interested persons should contact:

NOTICE

_KITIMAT-STIKINE REGIONAL HOSPITAL DISTRICT

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

REQUEST FOR MEMBERSHIP

The Kitimat-Stikine Regional Hospital District is looking for an individual who has an interest in
health care to serve as a member of the Kitimat-Stikine Regional Health Advisory Committee.

The Advisory Committee, which has ten members, advises the Kitimat-Stikine Regional Hospital
District Board on hospital facilities and hospital/health services within the District.

Judy Tracy
Administrative Officer:

Kitimat-Stikine Regional Hospital District ==
Suite 300 - 4545 Lazelle Avenue . ere eee

Terrace, B.C. V8G 4E1
Telephone: 635-7251 or
1-800-663-3208

pay eventually, of course. "Now
fines are tied to drivers licence
renewals,” says Yeske. "That
means if they give you a drivers
licence today, you get a speeding
ticket tomorrow... Essentially
you don’t have to pay for that
fine until you renew your licence
five years down the road." _
According to Yeske, "That’s
not an effective penalty. In order
to be effective it has to be im-
mediate." Would an effective
penalty slow habitual speeders
and dangerous drivers somewhat,

and perhaps result in a drop.

rather than an increase in insur-
ance premiums? Would the
payment of a current total of
more than $8 million in out-
Standing fines give the province
what they need to appoint more
judges and thus streamline our
court system a little?

If you think so, most people
who work in the justice system
would urge you to write your
MLA.

At the community level, there
are also a number of things you
can do. The most important,
perhaps, is to search for ways to
break the circle that passes the
habits of one generation of
offenders to the next. Most
young people who are abused,
become abusers themselves later

in life. Things are beginning to

change, though, as more and
more victims come forward and
help send abusers to jail.
People who live under poor
housing conditions tend to. abuse
the property of those they per-
ceive to be better off. Some
communities are searching for
ways to provide affordable and

adequate housing for those who
couldn't otherwise afford it.
‘Take a drive around town at 1

a.m. or 2 a.m. almost any night

‘of the week and you will likely

- se¢ Children as young as eight of
10, Why are they there? Where
are their parents?

The idea of imposing a curfew
ia presently being considered by

high expectations.

city council. Yeske says it’s a
good idea, but it may be difficult
to get around the Charter of
Rights. Even if we did have a
curfew, though, would it solve
the problem? If the child is not
at home because his parents are
at the bar, or if the child is
afraid:to go home because his
parents are fighting or he has
been abused, where does the
child go? We don’t have a 24-
hour safe house in Terrace.

Ultimately, says Yeske, it’s up
to parents to find solutions. The
police and the school system
can’t do it all. Says Yeske: "It’s
up to the parents to accept re-
sponsibility as parents... They
are their kids. We can’t babysit

them."
So it’s the community's turn to

accept responsibility. "Vandal-
ism is a serious crime," says
Yeske, "And we take it serious-
ly. We do our best to track down
the individuals responsible and
charge them. And we always
enter a request for restitution."
But he adds a plea to the com-
munity in general: "We need
your help. In reducing vandal-
ism, I’m looking forward to any
ideas you might have,"

On the other hand, Yeske
warms of geod intentions and
Crime has
been around for a long time and
it’s not going to disappear over-
night.

"We're looking at a long-road
type situation, like the

‘CounterAttack program. That's

been running for 10 or more
years and now it’s becoming a
socially unacceptable thing to
drink and drive. But that’s 10
years down the road. And: in
dealing with vandalism, you’re
in the same boat, You have to
get the moral ethic of the com-
munity up to say, ’No. You
don’t do that in our commun-
ity’."
And that takes time.