On Oct. 11, Mohammed Majidpour was released on bail after spending a weekend in jail for allegedly striking a 19-year-old woman over the head with a pipe.
Then, just two hours after being released from custody because of a different crime on Oct. 16, he was arrested once again in downtown Vancouver, this time for theft.
The case of Mr. Majidpour has become infamous in B.C. because of its symbolism. You see, this man has been in and out of courtrooms multiple times over the last seven years, with more than 30 convictions dating back to August, 2015, including for assault and assault with a weapon.
Yet, after allegedly striking a woman on the head with a weapon, he spends only a weekend in jail and is set free to apparently commit more crimes. Astonishing.
Few issues have put the B.C. government on its heels during the fall session of the legislature more than crime – specifically, the crimes of violent, repeat offenders who are too often arrested, charged and then set free.
This, of course, is not a situation unique to the province. It happens across the country every day. Understandably, members of the public are asking why a criminal’s rights appear to trump their own right to feel safe in their communities.
Take the case of Tyler Newton, 32, who, in an unprovoked and random attack, stabbed a man to death on a Kelowna, B.C., bus in 2014. He served seven years in jail after a psychologist determined Mr. Newton had been in a drug-induced psychosis.
Not long after being released from prison, Mr. Newton was arrested on assault and weapons charges. He was granted bail, failed to make his court date, disappeared, was rearrested and then – wait for it – was granted bail again. This is a person with more than 50 convictions.
Our justice system is broken. Yes, police and criminologists will tell you that crime is down overall, but others will tell you it is worse than it’s ever been. There is a significant problem with street crime and disorder. Random attacks in our major cities are now commonplace.
A report into prolific offenders and a rise in violent, unprovoked attacks in B.C. was released in September. It was instigated by the B.C. Urban Mayors’ Caucus, which pleaded with the government to do something about the “catch-and-release” nature of the justice system.
The report’s authors, Doug LePard, former deputy chief of the Vancouver Police Department, and Amanda Butler, an expert on mental health and the criminal justice system, were unflinching when it came to offering their views on the violence we are witnessing on our streets.
While mental illness is sometimes a factor in the reoffender phenomenon, it is by no means exclusive to this group, the authors wrote. They said there was a consensus among police that most repeat criminals committing sophisticated property crimes are wizened veterans with addiction issues.
“Some of them are so entrenched in a criminal lifestyle that they have no interest in receiving services, for example, for substance use,” the authors wrote.
They also batted away the notion that the problem of repeat offenders and random violence is overblown because crime rates overall are down. “We emphatically disagree,” the authors said.
A lot of the blame is pointed at Crown counsel in B.C. Police interviewed for the report expressed frustration that the Crown is reluctant to ask that offenders be detained pending trial, which only emboldens the criminal.
That reluctance stems from the view that the criminal has no chance of being rehabilitated while incarcerated and awaiting trial. But who thinks repeat offenders with substance-use disorders are going to seek rehabilitation while awaiting trial? It’s more likely they are going to commit another crime to source their addiction. There have to be some consequences.
Maybe the most important reason for keeping repeat offenders in jail while awaiting trial is to disabuse them of the now well-founded view that they can commit a crime without fear of consequences.
Not surprisingly, those responsible for the current situation are pointing the finger elsewhere. Crown counsel blame recent case law and federal legislation. They are on more solid ground when they cite the lack of health and social services for the accused, which contributes to repeat cycles of crime.
There are other factors: housing unaffordability, poverty, food insecurity, and a lack of mental health services.
But still, the answer isn’t to say, “We can’t arrest our way out of this problem.”
Wrong.
Until better solutions are found, that is precisely what we should be doing. At the very least, let’s keep dangerous repeat offenders locked up, and not give them a get-out-of-jail-free card every time they commit a crime.
Gary Mason