[Newsbot]

Title: Tories announce $155.5M prison expansion
Category: Misc CDN
Posted By: Hyack
Date: 2010-10-06 20:05:07
Canadian

[jason700]

$1:

Toews dismissed reports from Statistics Canada that the crime rate is falling. In July, the statistical agency reported that "both the volume and severity of police-reported crime fell in 2009," three per cent from 2008 and 17 per cent from 1999.

"Statistics/Smatistics" he says. Schools and communities could really use that $155.5 million.

[Bruce_the_vii]

jason700 jason700:

$1:

Toews dismissed reports from Statistics Canada that the crime rate is falling. In July, the statistical agency reported that "both the volume and severity of police-reported crime fell in 2009," three per cent from 2008 and 17 per cent from 1999.

"Statistics/Smatistics" he says. Schools and communities could really use that $155.5 million.

In Toronto here there is a certain amount of concern with crime around. People at work talk about it. It's a hot button. Or at least was until the price tag was announced. lol

[jason700]

High price for a Band-Aid solution.

[EyeBrock]

From the CBC story, they are adding to existing prisons due to overcrowding. In case anybody hasn’t noticed, our population is growing.

$155 million is a drop in the fiscal ocean when you think that $1,000,000,000 was wasted on e-health in Ontario. How many schools and communities could have used that BILLION of dollars.

Funny how people pick up on one thing and ignore other, more obvious issues.

[hurley_108]

EyeBrock EyeBrock:

From the CBC story, they are adding to existing prisons due to overcrowding. In case anybody hasn’t noticed, our population is growing.

$155 million is a drop in the fiscal ocean when you think that $1,000,000,000 was wasted on e-health in Ontario. How many schools and communities could have used that BILLION of dollars.

Funny how people pick up on one thing and ignore other, more obvious issues.

I'm with EB here. It's not much, and there is an overcrowding problem. You'd think lefties would be all over prisoners' rights and for some spening to ease the inmates' overcrowding.

A multibillion dollar spree on building new prisons is another matter though.

[EyeBrock]

I agree Hurley.

They stepped back from that one as that was an ideology issue (cracking down on weed) that didn't play well to the electorate.

[Zipperfish]

Sounds reasonable to me. I mean, I don't have much respect for the Tories and their anti-science agenda (in this case dismissing evidence that the crime rate is falling). But regardless, the prisons are already overcrowded and investment at this time seems prudent.

[2Cdo]

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

Sounds reasonable to me. I mean, I don't have much respect for the Tories and their anti-science agenda (in this case dismissing evidence that the crime rate is falling). But regardless, the prisons are already overcrowded and investment at this time seems prudent.

But is the crime rate really falling or have we become so apathetic that we don't bother reporting anything due to witnessing daily sentencing that seems to repunish the victim and reward the criminal?

[hurley_108]

2Cdo 2Cdo:

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

Sounds reasonable to me. I mean, I don't have much respect for the Tories and their anti-science agenda (in this case dismissing evidence that the crime rate is falling). But regardless, the prisons are already overcrowded and investment at this time seems prudent.

But is the crime rate really falling or have we become so apathetic that we don't bother reporting anything due to witnessing daily sentencing that seems to repunish the victim and reward the criminal?

I think I saw something recently that said that violent crime really is dropping but petty crime is dropping mostly due to decreased reporting and that the actual victimization rate is holding steady.

[Bruce_the_vii]

The $155 is a drop in the bucket fiscally but the government has a $9 billion plus program to build more prisons. That's expensive, people are questioning it.

[Curtman]

hurley_108 hurley_108:

A multibillion dollar spree on building new prisons is another matter though.

I don't think it's any better if they announce it a little bit at a time either.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/06/22/truth-in-reconciliation-pbo-report.html http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/06/22/truth-in-reconciliation-pbo-report.html:

New legislation limiting the credit given to prisoners for time served in custody before and during their trials will cost taxpayers $1 billion to implement and billions more to maintain, the parliamentary budget officer said Tuesday.

The construction of new correctional facilities alone will cost about $1.8 billion over five years, parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page said in a report quantifying the implications of the Truth in Sentencing Act.

A further $618 million will be needed annually for capital appropriations and operations and maintenance costs.

Something does need to be done about overcrowding, but Truth in Sentencing, and S-10 will make it impossible to do that without a multibillion dollar spree on building new prisons.

[Bruce_the_vii]

It was pointed out to me that there was a good reason for the double counting of time incarcerated before sentencing. That is because the police might drag their feet and delay due process to punish a guy they don't like. That and the government will try to underfund the Justice System. So these things go on. I'm not an expert, but it makes sense to me.

[Public_Domain]