As the Brandon Chamber of Commerce reports an increase in repeat retail theft offenders, local MLA Wayne Balcaen says the city needs to focus on stopping prolific offenders.
Balcaen is part of the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba, which has pledged to hire more Crown prosecutors if elected next year.
“We want to hire an additional 25 Crown prosecutors, or Crown attorneys, to focus on retail and property crime, including rural crime,” he said.
Balcaen said the additional prosecutors could focus on repeat offenders, noting retail crime has increased by 40 per cent, according to the chamber.
“They can take the time to look at these chronic prolific offenders that are causing probably 80 to 90 per cent of the problems and focus on them.”
Balcaen also suggested keeping offenders in custody until their trials.
“Custodial sentences or holding them in custody until their hearings could be the best path forward.”
As Brandon’s former police chief, Balcaen said issues involving police, courts and social services can allow repeat offenders to return to the streets easily.
“It can clearly be a mixture of all three,” he said. “There hasn’t been that clear denunciation and deterrence put on individuals.”
Balcaen said he will work over the next year to bring repeat offender numbers down.
“Making sure those measurable numbers start coming down, including crime rates, people’s perceptions of safety and storekeepers’ experiences. When we target repeat, chronic offenders, we want to see those numbers go down. That’s success.”
Following the announcement by the PC’s a few weeks ago, the NDP said it regularly meets with prosecutors to discuss improving working conditions.
Justice Minister Matt Wiebe also said the PCs failed to consult prosecutors while in government.
“When they had the opportunity to work with Crowns in a real way, when they were in government, they refused to do that.”
