Thursday, May 04, 2006

Tougher Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Gun Crimes

Today, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Vic Toews introduced bills to increase mandatory minimum penalties for gun crimes and to restrict conditional sentences for violent offenders.

It is possible to find background information and to track the progress of the bills in Parliament on the LEGISinfo service provided by the Library of Parliament:
  • Bill C-9 - An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conditional sentence of imprisonment)
  • Bill C-10 - An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum penalties for offences involving firearms) etc.
This is a follow-up to a March 22, 2006 post entitled Library of Parliament Mini-Review of Mandatory Minimum Sentencing.

The Library's analysis found that " given the many factors that can explain crime trends, studies on the effects of such sentences are considered difficult to interpret. As well, mandatory minimums can have many incidental, or unintended effects: '(the policy) sometimes results in charges being stayed or withdrawn, or a plea negotiation for a different charge, because prosecutors consider the MMS [mandatory minimum sentences] to be too harsh' ."

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posted by Michel-Adrien at 6:50 pm

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