Isn't that kind of like passing the buck? Or worse, not only are we sweeping the problem under the carpet, but we're shaking it off onto someone else's door step. That's poor politics if you ask me.
A BC meth addict who has a penchant for stealing (and break and enters) has been sent off with a slap on the wrist and banned from his community.
His story was brought to light a couple of weeks ago, when an RCMP officer stood before Mission, B.C., district council to report a falling crime rate. Sexual assaults were down by 40 per cent, business break-ins were down 60 per cent and major thefts had dropped by a whopping 72 per cent over the previous year. That said, topping the officer's presentation was the story of a meth addict - Dylan Chysyk - who likes to break into cars. Regularly swiping radios, GPS units and spare change to feed his habit, the 23-year-old was single-handedly responsible for a 75 per cent rise in car break-ins. Police and local media have dubbed him the "one-man crime wave." Just the kind of person you'd love to welcome into your community - yes? I think not.
Arrested for the first time about a month before, Chysyk confessed to breaking into 90 vehicles in six weeks. For that a provincial court judge handed him just three weeks in jail, and he got out in two.
This time around, another judge once again let him off in a few days, but with a twist: Chysyk is no longer allowed to set foot within Mission city limits. Hmmm....
We're talking about a full blown meth addict here who regularly and admittedly steals from fellow residents to feed his habits, is banishing him from Mission likely to solve the problem? Of course not, it's just making it someone else's. Not just that, imagine the frustration the police officer who continues to take Chysyk off the street must feel. "He's not a good boy," says Cpl. Siluch. "Aside from vehicle break-ins, in the past few months Chysyk has racked up two drug possession charges and a mischief charge, in addition to regularly breaching parole. The "revolving door" of the court system is a huge sticking point for police, who often complain of seeing petty thieves and drug dealers cycled back onto the street within days...
Wouldn't a treatment facility be a more appropriate option than a ban? It brings to mind a certain Winnipeg youth who was "banished to Yorkton" as his punishment for stealing cars. If memory serves correctly, that went about as well as this sentence is likely to.
