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Letters to Kerry
Stories of Victory, Struggle, Tragedy, & Workplace Concerns
September 19, 2005:
I read the [newspaper] article about the proposed "Life in Jail" for dealers in Meth. Not to sound too jaded but I doubt that would ever happen as there are too many Judges that set bad case law by letting the dealers off with probation. I'm not sure how familiar you are with our Justice system but Judges follow case law and generally when it comes time for sentencing the defense counsel will bring up what others have received and ask for the same for their clients.
The only way around this would be for our legal system to adopt the American system which has prescribed sentencing guidelines which all judges must follow (regardless of what sob story the defense gives). My colleagues and I would love to see that type of system in place as there is far too much "judge shopping" going on at present and there is no consistency amongst the judges.
I'm hoping it's not just lip service that our elected officials are giving us and they do in fact see the need to toughen up the laws. At the end of the day it will still be left to the individual judges to pass sentence though.
Hopefully I don't come across as too pessimistic....
Murray R. Mashford
**The opinions expressed in this letter are those of the writer and are not necessarily those of the Saanich Police Department or the Municipality of Saanich. Murray R. Mashford is a 19-year member of the Saanich Police Department and has worked in a number of Divisions while with the Department including Street Crime Unit, Youth Investigator, Organized Crime Agency of B.C. (Now known as the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit). At present Murray is a Sergeant on a Uniformed Patrol platoon.
