TORONTO – Police have enough evidence to charge gang recruiters, MP Parm Gill says; all they need is the legal ability to put them in behind bars.
Gill has put forward a private members bill, backed by his party, to make gang recruitment punishable by a maximum of five years in jail.
Bill C-394 would also carry a mandatory minimum sentence of six months if the accused recruited a minor.
The charge is expected to be a stand-alone offence, as Gill says that recruitment is now the only job description among many gang members.
“Gangs have become very sophisticated,” he says. “Pretty much every gang that exists out there, they have recruiters that are solely responsible for recruiting individuals into their organization.”
While gang invites don’t tend to leave a paper trail, Gill says a lot of prosecutions would rely on witness testimony rather than physical evidence.
“Obviously the best-case scenario is if somebody is approached or they are targeted and they don’t want to join the gang in a lot of the cases, and they are able to provide some information through the school or police services and ultimately become a witness at a trial.”
In the second reading, the bill was supported by the NDP but opposed by the Liberals.
“I’m surprised, to be honest, that the NDP is supporting this bill.” Gill says. But he’s happy to have them onside.
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Critics of the Harper government have argued a recent series of tough-on-crime legislation has left provinces footing the rising cost of prisons and prosecutions. Though the law would likely result in more spending on trials and prison housing, Gill says C-394 won’t require any extra funding.
“There’s no added cost. It is in the cost we already pay in terms of keeping our streets safe. It isn’t where we have to add more police officers on the road or have a special program,” he says.
“My bill is not necessarily going to fix the problem but this will be another tool in the toolbox for law enforcement officials.”
On Monday a C-394 was before a Commons human rights committee in Ottawa. Gill aims to have the bill in its third reading by May.
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