London Police Service weighs in on ‘growing chorus’ of calls for bail reform in Canada

The London Police Service Board is adding its voice to the “growing chorus” across the country calling for bail safety reform in Canada.

On Wednesday, Ali Chahbar, chair of LPSB, and police Chief Steve Williams sent a letter addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “calling for legislative reform to the Criminal Code of Canada.”

Earlier this year, provincial premiers unanimously called on the Liberal government in a letter to take “immediate action” on the bail system, highlighting a growing number of calls for changes to prevent accused people who are out on bail from committing further criminal acts.

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In the letter, premiers called on the federal government to establish a “reverse onus” system for specific firearm offences that would require the person seeking bail to demonstrate why they should not remain behind bars.

Federal Justice Minister David Lametti said earlier this month that he would give the idea serious consideration and that “it would be discussed at a meeting with provincial and territorial ministers.”

In the statement, Williams and Chahbar highlighted that London is the “fastest growing municipality in the Province of Ontario,” and, like many other cities, is “experiencing an increasing incidence of violent offenders released into our communities.”

“Regrettably, some of these repeat offenders charged with violent firearm crimes, aggravated intimate partner violence and hate based crimes, have engaged in similar violent behavior while on pre-trial release for the exact crimes for which they were charged in the first instance,” the letter read. “While we are fully cognizant of the fact that we cannot completely eliminate these types of violent repeat offences from occurring, that does not mean that we, as a society, cannot take the requisite steps to mitigate them from happening.”

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Both Williams and Charbar acknowledged the “fundamentally important Charter rights” a person has when charged with an offence and how those rights are at the core of the Canadian justice system. However, they said “that does not mean that certain amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada, which serve to further protect the safety and security of the public, cannot be enacted,” such as a higher threshold for bail being granted to people who are “chronic, violent offenders who possess convictions for previous violent crimes and firearm offences.”

“As Chief of Police for the London Police Service and Chair of the London Police Services Board, we are jointly calling for timely legislative reform to amend the Criminal Code of Canada to help address these issues,” they said. “We join the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police as well as a growing number of Police Boards and Associations across the country calling for bail reform.

“Protecting the safety of both the public and our frontline officers is of paramount importance,” the letter continued. “We are mourning the loss of fellow citizens and officers killed by violent repeat offenders who possessed previous convictions for firearms offences with increased regularity and frequency.

“These are preventable.”

Williams and Chahbar concluded that “it is a duty incumbent upon us all to take the requisite steps to do whatever in our power and means to prevent these tragedies from happening,” adding that bail reform is a “crucial and timely step that can address these issues while simultaneously protecting victims and protecting the safety of our communities.”