Just wanted to contribute to the thread. In my personal experience, homelessness and addiction/mental health have been the driving force behind the spike in violent crime ( yes I’m aware the general crime rate has dropped but I believe that will rise again due to the pandemic ending). I understand the intent behind the criminal Justice system is rehabilitation but lacks any focus on prevention which does entail detaining someone whose freedom impacts the general population negatively ie: victims of crime.
Interestingly, statistics show that someone who receives a federal sentence for crime (2 plus years) is less likely to re offend vs those that receive a provincial sentence (2 years or less). We also lack facilities such as the old Riverview mental health centre that was closed down in the 90’s to house people who cannot care for themselves and are a danger to society.
The government needs to address their lack of care for the people who are so unwell that they can’t function in society and also hold those criminals to account who continuously victimize the general population.
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