SACPA hears about bail conundrum in Alberta

By Justin Sibbet - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on June 9, 2023.

While some politicians say they will become tougher on crime and bail, some individuals who work in the justice system say it is not that easy or even the right move.
During an event held Thursday by the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA), two individuals, a Crown prosecutor and a criminal defense lawyer, spoke about the complexities and problems in the modern bail system.
As it happens, criminal defense lawyer Ingrid Hess says the bail system, and the justice system as a whole, is biased against the Indigenous population in Canada.
Furthermore, she says bail has not contributed to rising crime rates, as she says crime rates are not rising.
While citing a Statista study, Hess says crime rates are actually lower today than in the year 2000.
“In terms of the overall trend of serious violent crime, it is not skyrocketing,” said Hess.
The study, found on statista.com, does show numbers drop from 996 violent crimes per 100,000 people in 2000 to 736 in 2014.
However, the study shows 890 violent crimes per 100,000 in Canada as of 2021.
At any rate, she says the situations involving domestic violence are a prime example of bias and failure within the justice system because it can delay an opportunity for an accused person to become involved with various rehabilitation programs.
She also says these delays can lead to parents losing custody of their children, living situations becoming non-existent and much more.
She pointed out her belief of the bias against Indigenous people by saying there are worse criminals out there who are not being treated the same way.
“You have these serious guys who beat their wives and it’s constant intimidation,” said Hess.
She then created a hypothetical scenario to demonstrate her beliefs of the failing system.
“You have a 19-year-old Indigenous kid with his little girlfriend, they’re going to U of L, they have one little baby,” began Hess. “He comes home drunk one night and then pushes her because she’s mad at him because he came home drunk. He gets charged with domestic violence.”
Hess continued by saying the hypothetical accused person in this scenario would then have a condition to not have contact with the hypothetical victim.
However, she then says it is not his fault for then breaking this no-contact condition.
“So, guess what she does? She doesn’t abide by it, she tells him to come home,” said Hess. “Because she’s going to lose her place to live, she’s not going to be able to take care of their little baby.”
She says the hypothetical victim will then get a breach of condition charge because a neighbour could call the police after seeing them together.
“So he’s now a domestic violence offender and he gets a breach,” said Hess. “So, I don’t know, I don’t know the answers, but those cases make me nuts because I think there’s no discretion and they impose no-contact every time.”
Hess says the accused must then wait for the victim to go through a session on domestic abuse at the YWCA before saying whether she wants the no-contact condition to remain in place.
She says this is all because of the restrictive nature of the bail system, primarily targeting the Indigenous population, along with other minorities.
Furthermore, she says she strongly supports drug courts, along with domestic violence programs, as a method to support individuals who may fall down a path of criminal behaviour.
However, she says the bail system is still a massive barrier to bringing people into these types of programs.
“We have these very black and white ways of looking at all these problems and it’s just so stupid, quite frankly,” said Hess.
She backed up her view by presenting various statistics on incarceration in Canada,
She also says the problem is sometimes not the accused, but alcohol, which is why she supports programs that go beyond a prison cell.
“The alcoholic who’s, you know, maybe a nice guy most of the time but when he’s drunk he beats his wife,” said Hess. “That’s not every domestic violence person, but that’s some of them.”
“Some of them are just because of their alcoholism, they’re more prone to violence when they’re drunk,” said Hess. “If we can address the alcoholism, then less likelihood of them reoffending.”
On the other side of the courtroom, James Rouleau, a Crown prosecutor, says bail is intended to meet three primary concerns.
“Is (the accused) going to show up to court? Is (the accused), not anybody else, but is (the accused) going to commit further offenses? Would it offend the Canadian public that (the accused) is released?”
He says if all three conditions are satisfied, a person should be given bail.
“If a plan exists, they’re supposed to be released,” said Rouleau.
However, he says if any of the three conditions are not met, then bail may be denied to the accused, leaving them in police custody until a trial.
Rouleau also says he supports drug courts and domestic violence programs, but the issues that arise from them are not necessarily about bail.
“Bail, on its own, isn’t going to fix every systemic problem that criminal justice might have, or that society might have,” said Rouleau.
Meanwhile Hess disagreed, saying without bail then an accused individual will be unable to attend these programs.
Rouleau says a benefit of one of these programs is that it can at least begin the process towards meeting bail conditions and then enable a bail release for the accused later down the road.
“To get the ball rolling, get it started, bail is quite strict often at the beginning of the drug treatment court program,” said Rouleau. “Then we’re (satisfying all three bail conditions).”
While both speakers failed to directly agree on everything, there were points where they did meet in the middle, such as the necessity of a bail system.
The next SACPA event is next Thursday at noon, with Duane Bratt speaking about the results of the recent provincial election and what is to come next for Albertans.

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