An organization advocating on behalf of more than a hundred communities in northeastern Ontario is in the process of establishing a working group in an effort to address the issue of catch-and-release justice.
On Tuesday, the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) announced that the working group will bring together members of the FONOM board and individuals from the law and justice sectors to start working with the province in order to address the negative impacts of repeat offenders roaming the streets.
FONOM president Danny Whalen says that several member municipalities have sent resolutions to the federation on the issue of catch and release.
“There’s always been a problem where in many instances the police will have to arrest and charge somebody, and it just seems that before they even get their report in, the individual is back out on the street,” said Whalen, when reached by telephone Thursday. “This takes an enormous amount of resources.”
Whalen, who also serves as a member of council for the City of Temiskaming Shores, often sees catch-and-release justice play itself out in his community with repeated calls for police service to deal with the same “10 per cent” of the population.
He says that homelessness, mental health and addictions issues are contributing factors.
“But wherever the problem is growing from, it’s time we have to deal with it in some fashion. The police have been doing their best — municipalities are complaining about paying for this repetitive policing,” Whalen said.
The FONOM board decided to establish its catch-and-release working group last week following a presentation by Sault Ste. Marie Police Service Chief Hugh Stevenson on the growing issue of catch-and-release justice during a board meeting held last week.
“I did pick up on a real sense of frustration,” he said of the chief’s presentation. “To be honest, I wouldn’t want to be in the police service right now. I wouldn’t want to be an officer, because it seems like all of their effort is for naught.”
Whalen says FONOM will now seek out members for the working group, which could include representatives from police services, the judicial system and mental health sector.
“Let’s get everybody to the table so we can go to the province and say what we’re doing now isn’t working, and here’s what we believe is a viable plan to move forward,” he said.
FONOM says that work with the province could begin as soon as the Association of Municipalities Ontario’s annual general meeting and conference in August.