A retired Crown prosecutor is casting doubt on whether or not bail reform and other measures being introduced by the federal government will have the desired effect of keeping repeat offenders off the streets.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced this week that he will be introducing new bail reform legislation in the House of Commons next week.
Legislated changes to the Criminal Code will include reverse-onus bail provisions that will make those accused of serious crimes have to prove to the court why they should be released.
Mike Murray says that can make a difference, but he’s doubtful.
“After a lot of years of doing thousands of bail hearings, it’s usually pretty obvious who should be kept in, and who should be kept out. I mean if you think of the onus, it’s like 51 to 49. If the Crown has to prove 51 percent you should be kept in, if it’s reverse-onus you’ve got to prove 51 per cent you should be left out. And it’s not very often that a bail decision comes down to like a 1 per cent; ‘I would’ve let you out except it’s a reverse-onus.’ Most of the times it’s pretty obvious who should be in and who should be out.”
