Council passes motion calling for property offence-specific courts

“It’s not generally the enforcement body’s fault. It’s something that’s within the system, he says. “It’s not really the fact that the evidence isn’t there or that the offense didn’t take place, it’s just the fact that there are backlogs and shortages of space, shortages of prosecutors, shortages of judges and things are getting kicked out.”

Buchanan says there are currently specific court remedies for dealing with traffic violations, disclosure and early resolution files and domestic violence, just to name a few.

“If you happen to be one of those victims and all of a sudden your case is getting tossed out because too much time has elapsed, you’re kind of getting kicked again,” he says. “This isn’t something that’s unique to Red Deer, it’s not unique to Alberta. It’s happening all over the place and something needs to be done.”

Buchanan says if advocating to Alberta Justice and Solicitor General and to K Division and other policing stakeholders gets the attention of a few people, then he’d be happy.

“People deserve to be treated the way they deserve to be treated. People are getting frustrated that their truck or house is getting broken into and nothing’s happening,” he says.

“It’s just kind of laissez-faire and you can’t blame people.”

Buchanan’s motion also states that with the Prosecution Service Practice Protocol adopted in Alberta, property crimes fall to the wayside while more serious and violent crimes take priority, despite the fact property offenses are the fastest growing category of crime.

Of the 67 Jordan applications filed since last fall, 14 are pending, 18 have been dismissed and six have been granted. Of the remainder, 14 were abandoned by the defence, six were stayed and nine were resolved. One is being appealed by the Crown.

Council unanimously passed the motion on Tuesday night.

by Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Council passes motion calling for property offence-specific courts

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