Provincial Justice Minister listens to rural crime concerns

“I actually was on the board of the Calgary drug treatment court for over five years. It’s had some big success, but right now those programs are really only available in Calgary and Edmonton. We want to make sure we can expand their reach into other centres as well.

“Quite often drug treatment courts involve individuals that have been charged with a crime,” he explains. “They have to admit they’re guilty up front, but sentencing is deferred, contingent upon you know, fulfilling their promise to go through the program.”

It’s not clear though, how that expansion would occur, given the constant demand for courtrooms and trial time at Lethbridge’s courthouse.

Schweitzer also acknowledged a conversation with Lethbridge Mayor Chris Spearman, calling for a SCAN (Safer Communities and Neighborhoods) unit. It’s something that Calgary already has, but that the mayor feels could benefit the community here as well.

In fact, Calgary’s SCAN unit released information Sept. 17, indicating it had obtained a court order to not only shut down a well-known drug house in SE Calgary for 90 days, but also that the home owner was under strict conditions about the use of the property for the next five years.

The order “forbids the property owner from having any visitors or tenants for five years without prior approval from SCAN investigators. The order will remain in effect until Dec. 16, 2024.”

The Justice Minister didn’t make any promises to fund a SCAN unit but did say he would “go back and talk to my (his) department.”

Schweitzer also briefly mentioned Conservative government’s campaign promise to fund ALERT (Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team), to the tune of $50 million. He then turned to the protest that occurred at a Hutterite turkey farm recently in Fort Macleod.

“We can’t have that type of behaviour in Alberta. It potentially compromises an entire farming operation and it can have huge impacts on families, huge impact on business investments, and the ability for people that have valid, legitimate, proven farming practices from doing their jobs and providing for their families. So, I’m working right now with the Minister of Agriculture to send a clear signal that we’re not going to tolerate this type of behaviour in Alberta.”

That said, the Minister explained that if protesters want to “fill their boots” on the side of the street or get a proper permit to protest, it was their right to do so.

“Don’t break into a barn, don’t break into someone’s personal property to send, in my view, a political message. That’s just not appropriate. People here have valid farming practices; Albertans are the best in the world at what they do. They’re ethical farmers.”

Overall, he says, there’s a sense of frustration from residents in Lethbridge, and in surrounding areas. But there’s also frustration coming from local politicians, law enforcement, prosecutors and even the judiciary.

“We have a system right now that in many instances is falling down. We have the ability of the police to catch the individual. But once they catch them, the person’s back out on the street within days or a week. So, the individuals think that they can just run rampant in rural Alberta right now.”

Some suggestions include giving prosecutors more resources to focus on repeat offenders, empowering local crime watches with best practices information and increasing police resources.

While the independence of the judiciary must be respected, Schweitzer adds, there is a movement to review future judges in the province – candidates who “share the values of Albertans.”

Schweitzer’s tour will continue until the end of the month. Some changes he says, can be expected with the budget is announced likely in October, while other changes may take longer and won’t likely be prioritized until sometime in 2020.

by Lara Fominoff

Provincial Justice Minister listens to rural crime concerns

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