By junior high, we understood more about why laws are difficult to enforce. People who interpret the laws – lawyers and judges - often argue with cops who are supposed to enforce the laws. Back then, my friends and I learned to take advantage of the situation. We could play all sorts of games while people were busy arguing about the meaning and the enforcement of laws.
In my home town of New York, folks took the cops less and less seriously. Cops didn’t have the final word, anyway. Once the lawyers and judges got done with the cops’ work, lots of crooks walked. We saw gangsters and even murderers smirk at the cops. We’d see it nightly on the evening news.
Law-abiding citizens got cynical while crooks were emboldened. It wasn’t until the Giuliani era that confidence was confiscated from crooks and restored to the good folks in the neighbourhood. It’s not like things are perfect, but they’re a lot better. I recently talked to someone who said they felt safer visiting New York City than walking downtown in Winnipeg. Talk like that ticks me off – even though I know it’s true!
Back in Winnipeg, it seems we live too far from New York to learn from their experience. The basics are the same. Until courts help restore respect for cops, we’ll live in fear of criminals. We either support the authority of cops or further the rule of crooks. We can’t have it both ways.
Here’s a recent example.
Three teens are walking in downtown Winnipeg at 1:30 in the morning. A cop car pulls alongside them. The cops ask the teens what they’re doing downtown and ask for some identification. They’re not ordering them to go home. They’re not conducting a strip search. The cops are just asking questions.
The cops do a quick check on the ID’s. They discover that one of the teens is a juvenile offender with a probation order and a court imposed curfew. At 1:30 in the morning the kid is in violation of his curfew, so he’s arrested. Good job, right?
Wrong! The trial judge throws out the case. He figures the cops asked for ID “without cause and without lawful authority.” An appeal judge sides with the cops and supports the arrest. But now the Manitoba Court of Appeal ruled that we should set aside both decisions and review the case all over again.
No wonder we’ve got problems in the neighbourhood! Cops don’t have “lawful authority” to ask some kids for identification? It appears they’re not allowed to ask teens what they’re doing on the street at 1:30 in the morning.
And what’s this talk about cops asking questions “without cause?” There’s plenty of questions that beg to be asked if we want more safety in our downtown. I’ve known people, young and old who were assaulted or killed in this town. Usually late at night, often it’s been downtown. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Why do we ask cops to do a job and then slap them with legalese when they try to do it?
The curfew thing is a joke. Courts impose curfews on offenders and then undermine the authority of the only folk who can enforce the curfews. That’s only one example.
And what about the time and money spent on these silly arguments? Rape, theft and assault cases move slower through the courts with this kind of nonsense clogging the system.
Charles Adler invited me to argue the case with a defense attorney on his radio program. The lawyer professed concern for “Charter rights.” He was concerned about potential “profiling” of certain groups. He was concerned that citizens should have the right to walk the streets at any time of day or night without being asked by the police for identification. And then he said, “What if the police abuse their power?”
Give it a rest! He’s worrying about some “slippery slope” when we’re already stuck in the valley. He’s worried about potential abuse of police power while we’re living with real abuse at the hands of punk power.
My teens aren’t gangsters, but they’re sometimes out late at night. What would they do if the cops asked to check their ID and enquired what they were doing out so late? As a parent I sure wouldn’t mind.
But I asked them how they feel about this “erosion of their rights.” They laughed. “We’ve got nothing to hide.” “I have no problem talking to cops, unless maybe I would have done something wrong.”
Out of the mouths of teens…
Rev. Harry Lehotsky
514 Maryland Street
Winnipeg, Mb R3G 1M5
(204) 775-4929
lehotsky@escape.ca