By rdnewsNOW staff

Kenney announces UCP plan to tackle crime in Alberta

Mar 27, 2019 | 4:01 PM

EDMONTON – United Conservative Leader Jason Kenney says if he were premier he would throw out a policy that directs Alberta’s Crown prosecutors to abandon some criminal cases to make sure more serious ones get to court.

Kenney, at a campaign stop in Lac Ste. Anne County, said the policy flies in the face of justice and could be rectified with more resources and better planning.

He said a UCP government will hire 50 more prosecutors and support staff and would use alternative measures such as more drug treatment courts to get people through the system.

“The first duty of government is to protect public safety,” Kenney said. “But on that score, this NDP government has failed. Crime has risen steeply since the NDP took over with its soft on crime approach. A United Conservative government will act to give our police and prosecutors the tools they need to protect law abiding Albertans and put serious criminals behind bars.”

Two years ago, Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley gave triage guidelines to prosecutors, because some serious cases were being tossed out for taking too long to get to trial.

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Ganley’s memo urged prosecutors to consider abandoning some minor charges or protracted white-collar crime prosecutions to make sure serious crimes didn’t fall through the cracks. Her department also hired more prosecutors to deal with the backlog.

The NDP is pointing out that Kenney and the UCP voted against several measures last year to tackle crime in Alberta, including the hiring of 59 additional Mounties, 20 new crown prosecutors and four new provincial court judges. The NDP says these measures and others have helped reduce rural property crime by 16 per cent.

“It’s encouraging to see the results from our rural crime strategy, and we will continue fighting to keep this critical work going,” said Barb Miller, NDP candidate for Red Deer-South.

“Our partners in law enforcement are on the ground every day keeping our communities safe,” said Kim Schreiner, NDP candidate for Red Deer-North. “They deserve to be supported by a government that has their back and invests in the resources they need.”

(Troy Gillard – With file from The Canadian Press, UCP and NDP media releases)

by rdnewsNOW staff

Kenney announces UCP plan to tackle crime in Alberta

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