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| Norman Douglas |
It is the compulsory term on every probation order. A term impossible for any human being to keep.
As I watched them leave the courtroom to proceed to the probation office, I wished them well.
Deep down I was thinking of those people on the wharf at Southampton waving and shouting “Bon voyage!” to the passengers on the Titanic.
So what would I have done if someone appeared before me charged with breaching their probation order by “not being of good behaviour”? Are there degrees of good? Fairly good? Not bad?
What if I had misbehaved by arguing with my regional senior judge that morning? Send the case to another judge?
And what does “keeping the peace” mean anyway?
I’m glad you asked that question. Because that is what I want to address today.
There are many different types of “peace.”
The Bible refers to three types of peace: relational, emotional and spiritual.
“Let peace RULE in your hearts.”
The word “rule” can be translated as “umpire” in the original Greek language. We would not need an external umpire if we could always control ourselves.
But none of us can keep all the rules all the time, so we need “umpires” in our societies. Their job is to maintain peace (order).
Can you imagine baseball, hockey, soccer, football games, etc. without an umpire (referee)?
Or courts without a judge?
“I object.”
“That’s because you’re an idiot.”
“You can’t call me an idiot.”
“Oh yeah, what are you gonna do about it?”
In our criminal courts, it is the King’s peace (the Queen’s peace throughout my career) that we must keep. The ideal government in England and her colonies was a benevolent monarch ruling over obedient, safe, free and happy subjects.
And there were umpires — sheriffs or “peace” officers who occasionally had to enforce that peace should any ruffian or scofflaw disturb it.
And in extreme cases, these peace officers might even have to bop someone on the head with a billy club.
I think at some point over the centuries “billy” became “bobby” and “bop” became “cop.”
Aw, the good old days ...
Now the monarchs are bopping themselves and the bobbies are driving armoured S.W.A.T. vehicles equipped with enough firepower to match the modern weapons of the subjects who have armed themselves to the teeth.
And in the world we survive in, there is no peace.
No peace internationally as countries try to exterminate each other.
No peace in our neighbourhoods as the news reports daily stabbings and shootings.
No peace in our workplaces as employees — heck, even students in our schools — protest and strike.
No peace in our homes as domestic violence clogs our court dockets.
More jails, tougher judges and stricter bail laws says our premier. I have already expressed my view in three previous submissions to Law360 Canada on these well-meaning but misguided and ill-advised “solutions” (see Mystery of bail in Canada; More jails? and Define ‘tough judge’).
The year before I began my career as an assistant Crown Attorney “whipping” was an available sentence (with a dash of mercy — male prisoners only) in our Criminal Code. So I just missed that option in making my sentencing submissions to the judges.
I was familiar with the “strap” in school. My friends and I, living in a wartime house neighbourhood, all knew about being “whipped” by our war veteran dads. Fortunately, my dad was more merciful. The only time he took off his belt to threaten me, his pants fell down, and I was reprieved.
I believe that we do not need whipping. We do not need tougher judges. We need judges who are kind and compassionate when they CAN be and tough when they SHOULD be.
We do not need more jails. We need jails for the dangerous but more secure hospitals and treatment facilities for those living with addiction and mental illness.
We do not need stricter bail laws. We need better enforcement and monitoring of our current laws.
We do NEED peace officers.
And I believe that the people who are clamouring to defund the police have no idea what they are talking about.
We need to REFUND the police.
Here is what I mean by that cute repartee:
When I was growing up in the 1950s — I was taught that the police were my friends. They would save me if I was in danger. They would help me if I was in trouble.
They were the good “guys” (very few, if any, were women back then in Sault Ste. Marie).
Fast-forward to 2024 ...
They are the bad people.
The publicity all goes to those who have been charged with abusing their authority. The bullies, the rapists, the killers among them. And those rogues SHOULD be exposed and, if found guilty, the punishment should take into account that they should be held to a higher standard. I have prosecuted as a Crown, and convicted as a judge, perhaps a dozen police officers in 47 years. There are currently officers in our province of Ontario and elsewhere in Canada awaiting trial for assaults and sexual assaults.
Justice Fergus O'Donnell just last week castigated several police officers for lying under oath in one case.
I have been a guest lecturer at the Ontario Police College in Aylmer. I unequivocally told these new recruits that their oath to the court trumps any allegiance to the “thin blue line” pact.
But I do not believe that these few unworthy criminals should destroy the respect and admiration we hold for the frontline heroes who do their dangerous and thankless duty day after day.
I don’t know if any or all of the community police services have an “employee of the month” award outlining a particular heroic or Samaritan deed performed in the line of duty. They should. And the media should publicize it.
So it would be Utopian if we all kept the peace and were of good behaviour.
But since we live on the planet Earth, and since we are human, we will always need peace officers.
Norman Douglas is a retired criminal court judge with 27.5 years of experience on the bench. His book, You Be the Judge, was published in December.
The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s firm, its clients, Law360 Canada, LexisNexis Canada or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.
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