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Policing
Fighting Crime With Socialist Utopianism
In a recent op-ed in the Winnipeg Free Press, associate professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Winnipeg, Kelly Gorkof, an associate professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Winnipeg, argued that the traditional idea of fighting crime is...
The RCMP Failed Canadians at Kamloops
The RCMP has a long and honourable history, and has served Canadians well. RCMP top brass and regular officers have always insisted on doing their job in their own way. They have robustly specifically resisted all attempts by politicians to interfere in their clear...
The Politics of Flags and the Fate of Canadian Unity
Over the past two years, Canadians have been treated to a seismic shift in their relation to the Canadian flag. Known as “the Maple Leaf flag,” since its adoption by the House of Commons in 1965, the Canadian flag has become our predominant and most...
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Canadian Property Rights Index 2023
A Snapshot of Property Rights Protection in Canada After 10 years
Alberta Politics and Empty Promises of Health-care Solutions
The writ has been dropped and Albertans are off to the polls on May 29. That leaves just four weeks for political leaders and voters to sort out what is arguably the most divisive, yet significant, issue for this election - health care. On Day 2, NDP leader Rachel...
Is Justice Still Blind in Canada?
Canada is at the forefront of a broader movement that seeks to reimagine police, prisons, and the nature of justice
Our Deluded Leaders Ignore Reality and Ensure Disaster
Do you think that without electricity you can charge an electric car? The governor of California Gavin Newsom and the dozen states that follow California’s rules do, and so apparently does Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada. They have mandated electric cars by...
Does Canada Now Have a Two-Tiered Justice System?
The FBI raid on the home of former President Donald Trump has emphasized existing concerns that the United States now has a two-tiered justice system--one for those in power, and another for those who aren’t. But here in Canada we have a quieter version of that same...
The Masked Failure of Command
Police services are once again hard at work preparing annual budget submissions for the next fiscal year. The cost of policing continues to mount year after year, and the justifications seem to repeat year to year as well. The budget for Canada’s largest municipal...
Youth Curfews Are Not Good Policy
Over the decades, many communities in Canada have experimented with different versions of a curfew for children and adolescents. Most often, anyone under the age of 16 or 18 must be off the street by a specific time, such as 10pm. The aim is to reduce vandalism and...
RCMP Firearms Seizures in High River May Risk Lives, Not Save Them
The RCMP’s ill-advised seizure of firearms from abandoned High River homes has eroded confidence in the federal police and may have the unintended consequence of endangering more lives in future.
The Last Word on Crime and Police — For Now
The Frontier Centre recently released a backgrounder I co-authored over the last few months on the effect of police levels on crime. The conclusion was simple: the evidence suggests that Canadian cities have sufficient police resources. This has predictably ruffled some feathers. I’ll address some of the criticisms I’ve received, though, frankly, most of the points were already addressed in the paper.
More Police Does Not Equal Less Crime: Canada’s Cities Have Sufficient Police Resources
Canadian cities are very safe relative to American cities. Some cities could reduce crime with a targeted police presence in relatively dangerous neighbourhoods. However, simply increasing police levels does not appear to be an effective anti-crime strategy, and police services could free up resources by adopting more efficient staffing policies.
Crime and Punishment in the UK
The UK Conservative Party looks at alternatives to incarceration. Fiscal pressure is mounting. Overall crime rates are falling. And stubborn reoffending rates suggest that some things are not working. Maybe that memo has not made it to Ottawa yet.