Government study defends B.C. judges

B.C. judges are no softer on criminals than their counterparts in the rest of the country, according to a comprehensive new sentencing study released by the B.C. government Monday.

Indeed, the study found that for many offences, judges in B.C. are more likely to sentence criminals to significant jail time than in other provinces.

B.C. judges have frequently been criticized — by everyone from police to politicians — for being too lenient.

The study released Monday was itself commissioned after the government stated in its throne speech last year that B.C. residents “want to understand why sentences in their province tend to be shorter than in other provinces” for many crimes.

Yet the 94-page study — written by two Ontario criminologists — concludes B.C. judges are tougher than people think.

The study compared B.C. to seven provinces (Manitoba and Quebec were not included because of data-quality issues).

The study notes that while average jail sentences in B.C. are lower than in other provinces, B.C. judges are also more likely to sentence offenders to jail time in the first place.

Perversely, then, a B.C. judge who gives a petty criminal two days in jail actually pulls down the “average” sentence, while sending that same criminal home with a fine — and reserving jail for the worst offenders — keeps average sentences high.

To get around this problem, the study’s authors looked at what share of all convicted criminals — both those who were incarcerated and those who weren’t — received significant jail time.

For example, the study found that 9.1 per cent of those convicted of a violent crime in B.C. are sentenced to more than six months in jail, higher than in every province studied except New Brunswick (9.3 per cent) and Saskatchewan (10.8 per cent).

Overall, the study’s authors looked at 23 separate offences and found only three — robbery, uttering threats and drug trafficking — for which B.C. was more lenient.

For the rest — crimes such as weapon offences, sexual assault and break-and-enter — B.C. judges were either harsher than in other provinces or in the middle of the pack.

B.C. Provincial Court Chief Judge Hugh Stansfield said he thinks the study will be “helpful in challenging the assumptions that have been out there and showing folks . . . that sentencing patterns in British Columbia are not materially different than anywhere else in Canada.”

Anthony Doob, a University of Toronto criminologist and one of the study’s authors, said while his report provides strong evidence B.C. judges are not overly lenient, sentencing is so complex it’s impossible to know for sure.

For example, while the number of people in pre-trial custody in B.C. has been increasing, there are still fewer people in remand here than in Ontario or Alberta.

Those convicted of a crime are usually given credit for time served — sometimes double time — which could make the sentences in Ontario and Alberta appear more lenient than they really are.

B.C. Attorney-General Wally Oppal, a former judge, said the perception B.C. judges are too lenient has eroded public confidence in the courts, something he hopes this study will help remedy.

“[But] I don’t think it will end the debate,” he said.

cskelton@vancouversun.com