SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT (S.I.U.) COMING TO TOWN
Wednesday's (Dec.28/11) K-W Record carried a small story about a car crash that occurred in Cambridge. The crash happened during a police pursuit and the driver was injured thus bringing in the S.I.U.. The crash occurred on George St. near Parkhill Rd.. Police are asking for any witnesses to come forward and may phone either 416-622-1957 or 1-800-787-8529 ext. 1957 . Both last month as well as in October there were a number of stories in the K-W Record describing the difficulties and concerns that the S.I.U. and their Director Ian Scott have been having in getting the cooperation of police forces in Ontario. Future postings will probably explain those stories in greater detail.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
ANTIQUATED JURY SELECTION PROCESS
Tracy Tyler of the Kitchener-Waterloo Record has a front page story titled " Jury selection process costs economy". If you look carefully you will notice that the quoted title of the Record's story is a slightly different colour than the rest of the words. A left click on the story title will bring up the Record story for you.
The overall gist of this story is that the entire jury selection process is needlessly archaic, slow, expensive and apparently thoughtless on the part of the responsible authorities which ultimately would be the Ministry of the Attorney General. Every year between 100,000 and 150,000 Ontario citizens are summoned to appear to be potential jurors. This particular article focuses on the inertia and problems in the Toronto area. Speaking personally, about four years ago I was summoned for jury selection, to Superior Court in Kitchener. I honestly can't state that I found the process riddled with repetition or delay. Perhaps that is because I was excused from jury duty very quickly. I can state that I did find the process arbitrary and grossly biased. As stated on Page 3 of the Record "The prosecution and defence can also challenge and reject jurors...". This is what occurred in my case and was caused by the intervention of the Judge, one Robert Reilly. I do not have any documentation in my possesion to back this up but I have been verbally told by a lawyer that Judge Reilly is the most appealed Judge in Waterloo Region. Please note I said most appealed not most appealing.
The good Judge took it upon himself to advise both the Crown and the Defence that he Judge Reilly knew me personally through a prior Civil matter and he inferred that it would be best if I was not chosen. The Crown and Defence apparently not wishing to upset the person judging their respective cases deferred to his opinion. Quite frankly I was shocked by this. Since when is a citizen assumed to be inelegible for jury duty based on a years earlier civil matter? Neither the Crown nor Defence asked me any pertinent or probing questions. Neither the Crown nor the Defence asked me if my former knowlege of Judge Reilly would somehow cloud my decision making in this criminal matter.
As was stated in the Record's article many jurors are out of pocket for the time they spend in both selection and in actual jury duty. In my case I left my construction job a week early (seasonal) in order to attend my jury summons. I was willing and prepared to do so in order to fulfill my obligations as a citizen of this country. The jury selection process including judicial interference precluded this happening.
Tracy Tyler of the Kitchener-Waterloo Record has a front page story titled " Jury selection process costs economy". If you look carefully you will notice that the quoted title of the Record's story is a slightly different colour than the rest of the words. A left click on the story title will bring up the Record story for you.
The overall gist of this story is that the entire jury selection process is needlessly archaic, slow, expensive and apparently thoughtless on the part of the responsible authorities which ultimately would be the Ministry of the Attorney General. Every year between 100,000 and 150,000 Ontario citizens are summoned to appear to be potential jurors. This particular article focuses on the inertia and problems in the Toronto area. Speaking personally, about four years ago I was summoned for jury selection, to Superior Court in Kitchener. I honestly can't state that I found the process riddled with repetition or delay. Perhaps that is because I was excused from jury duty very quickly. I can state that I did find the process arbitrary and grossly biased. As stated on Page 3 of the Record "The prosecution and defence can also challenge and reject jurors...". This is what occurred in my case and was caused by the intervention of the Judge, one Robert Reilly. I do not have any documentation in my possesion to back this up but I have been verbally told by a lawyer that Judge Reilly is the most appealed Judge in Waterloo Region. Please note I said most appealed not most appealing.
The good Judge took it upon himself to advise both the Crown and the Defence that he Judge Reilly knew me personally through a prior Civil matter and he inferred that it would be best if I was not chosen. The Crown and Defence apparently not wishing to upset the person judging their respective cases deferred to his opinion. Quite frankly I was shocked by this. Since when is a citizen assumed to be inelegible for jury duty based on a years earlier civil matter? Neither the Crown nor Defence asked me any pertinent or probing questions. Neither the Crown nor the Defence asked me if my former knowlege of Judge Reilly would somehow cloud my decision making in this criminal matter.
As was stated in the Record's article many jurors are out of pocket for the time they spend in both selection and in actual jury duty. In my case I left my construction job a week early (seasonal) in order to attend my jury summons. I was willing and prepared to do so in order to fulfill my obligations as a citizen of this country. The jury selection process including judicial interference precluded this happening.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
POLICE AND DOUGHNUTS GO TOGETHER LIKE A HORSE AND CARRIAGE
O.K. I admit it. That above headline is provocative and inflammatory. My bad! Today's Kitchener-Waterloo Record has a front page story in the Local Section titled " "Fed up" officers departing force". This is a serious article written by Frances Barrick, although from the viewpoint primarily of Bruce Tucker, head of the Waterloo Regional Police Association. To balance this article she has also interviewed Matt Torigan, Chief of our Regional Police. According to Mr. Tucker, police are quitting our force due to staff shortages and increased workload. Chief Torrigan's tepid endorsement of this assessment is as follows: "If people are telling him they are leaving because of lack of resources and increased workload, I will have to believe that".
Further Mr. Tucker indicates that last summer there were shifts which only had six or seven officers working out of each of the three detachments (presumably Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge). I find this statement extraordinary. Our Regional policing has a budget way over one hundred million dollars and we had only six or seven front line officers on duty ? If that statement is correct then something is horribly wrong. My understanding is that our Regional force consists of hundreds of officers not dozens. What exactly is going on here? My next thought is this: all the available statistics indicate that crime across Canada and in Waterloo Region is decreasing not increasing. This is despite tough economic times and an ever increasing population.
Perhaps there might be a little rhetoric going on here? According to Ms. Barrick " The solution, Tucker said, is Chief Matt Torigan's plan to hire 30 more officers next year." Of course this is only 30 front line officers. Chief Torigan's plan also includes 22 civilians and 10 special constables above the 30 front line officers for a total increased expenditure of 1.8 million dollars. Am I the only one who sees a wee bit of a pattern here? Does not the Teachers' Union, oh excuse me Teachers' Association, not routinely march in step to either Board or Provincial calls for smaller class sizes and increased budgets, all at the same time that enrollment of children is decreasing? The good news to date is that the civilian oversight Police Board and Regional government have been slow to embrace this proposed increase. I suggest that they would be wise to continue serious scrutiny of this proposed expansion.
O.K. I admit it. That above headline is provocative and inflammatory. My bad! Today's Kitchener-Waterloo Record has a front page story in the Local Section titled " "Fed up" officers departing force". This is a serious article written by Frances Barrick, although from the viewpoint primarily of Bruce Tucker, head of the Waterloo Regional Police Association. To balance this article she has also interviewed Matt Torigan, Chief of our Regional Police. According to Mr. Tucker, police are quitting our force due to staff shortages and increased workload. Chief Torrigan's tepid endorsement of this assessment is as follows: "If people are telling him they are leaving because of lack of resources and increased workload, I will have to believe that".
Further Mr. Tucker indicates that last summer there were shifts which only had six or seven officers working out of each of the three detachments (presumably Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge). I find this statement extraordinary. Our Regional policing has a budget way over one hundred million dollars and we had only six or seven front line officers on duty ? If that statement is correct then something is horribly wrong. My understanding is that our Regional force consists of hundreds of officers not dozens. What exactly is going on here? My next thought is this: all the available statistics indicate that crime across Canada and in Waterloo Region is decreasing not increasing. This is despite tough economic times and an ever increasing population.
Perhaps there might be a little rhetoric going on here? According to Ms. Barrick " The solution, Tucker said, is Chief Matt Torigan's plan to hire 30 more officers next year." Of course this is only 30 front line officers. Chief Torigan's plan also includes 22 civilians and 10 special constables above the 30 front line officers for a total increased expenditure of 1.8 million dollars. Am I the only one who sees a wee bit of a pattern here? Does not the Teachers' Union, oh excuse me Teachers' Association, not routinely march in step to either Board or Provincial calls for smaller class sizes and increased budgets, all at the same time that enrollment of children is decreasing? The good news to date is that the civilian oversight Police Board and Regional government have been slow to embrace this proposed increase. I suggest that they would be wise to continue serious scrutiny of this proposed expansion.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
AMANDA HISCOCKS & MONICA PETERS OF GUELPH
O.K. it turns out I've fibbed a little bit on the timing here (it's not January 2, 2012 yet). Also the time shown for these postings is off as I haven't quite figured out how to adjust the clock yet. Today's Kitchener-Waterloo Record has the following story and pictures: "Activist: "These aren't my first criminal convictions and they won't be my last"." Ms. Hiscocks will be sentenced on January 13, 2012 for her role in organizing protests at the G20 summit in Toronto a year and a half ago. More specifically she has been convicted of counselling others to commit property damage as well as counseling others to obstruct a police officer. Interestingly there was no determination that the individuals she counselled actually did either property damage or obstructed the police. I can say that conspiracy charges, counselling charges and from personal experience Obstruction charges are overused, abused and quite frankly pathetic. There was a time when Canadians expected police to catch and charge the persons who torched police cars or broke windows. In today's political climate apparently the next best thing is to go after activists. This story was done via a question & answer exchange with Rob O'Flanagan of the Guelph Mercury. It seems apparent from many of the answers that this young woman (hey that's not sexist or ageist when you're as old as I am) believes sincerely in her causes and ideals.
O.K. it turns out I've fibbed a little bit on the timing here (it's not January 2, 2012 yet). Also the time shown for these postings is off as I haven't quite figured out how to adjust the clock yet. Today's Kitchener-Waterloo Record has the following story and pictures: "Activist: "These aren't my first criminal convictions and they won't be my last"." Ms. Hiscocks will be sentenced on January 13, 2012 for her role in organizing protests at the G20 summit in Toronto a year and a half ago. More specifically she has been convicted of counselling others to commit property damage as well as counseling others to obstruct a police officer. Interestingly there was no determination that the individuals she counselled actually did either property damage or obstructed the police. I can say that conspiracy charges, counselling charges and from personal experience Obstruction charges are overused, abused and quite frankly pathetic. There was a time when Canadians expected police to catch and charge the persons who torched police cars or broke windows. In today's political climate apparently the next best thing is to go after activists. This story was done via a question & answer exchange with Rob O'Flanagan of the Guelph Mercury. It seems apparent from many of the answers that this young woman (hey that's not sexist or ageist when you're as old as I am) believes sincerely in her causes and ideals.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
BRAND NEW STARTING IN 2012
This is a brand new project, at least blog wise. The background research, ideas, thoughts, opinions and experience have been a lifetime in the making. I will attempt my first serious blog/posting on January 2, 2012. My expectation is for only semi regular posting such as once or twice per week however we shall soon see how that goes.
This is a brand new project, at least blog wise. The background research, ideas, thoughts, opinions and experience have been a lifetime in the making. I will attempt my first serious blog/posting on January 2, 2012. My expectation is for only semi regular posting such as once or twice per week however we shall soon see how that goes.
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