7.The Province

Sunday, November 25th, 2007

1000 incidents involving Tasers in B.C. since 2005

By Jennifer Saltman

I've been having mixed feelings about the use of tasers because the fact of them being used with fatal outcomes quite often lately. According to Amnesty International, "there had been 16 deaths related to Taser use in Canada since 2001, before the recent case of Robert Dziekanski and the death of Robert Knipstrom, announced yesterday. Six of those people died in 2005 and 2006." In this article it is giving us a view on how tasers have helped many people and prevented some bad situations and fatalities. In May 2007 Victoria police saved a suicidal woman's life by using a Taser. "The woman, who was high on cocaine, had seriously wounded herself and was holding a sharp object when police approached her." The shock caused her to drop the weapon. In November 2006 a judge found that police used reasonable force during a Lillooet drug bust. An RCMP officer used a Taser on a large dog and a woman who was screaming and refusing to obey the commands of the drug squad. In December 2003, RCMP used a Taser to "subdue a weapon-wielding Fort St. John man following an incident at a bar."

*These incidents make me think that tasers are a good thing. I would rather police use tasers than guns. Tasers are a good way to stop a potentially bad situation before it happens and tasers besides occasional deaths are usually non lethal. I do think though that police could come up with more strict rules on when it is okay for the use of tasers and maybe come up with a taser that is not as powerful but still does the job, so there is not as big of a risk for death. Tasers are good because if police are trying to control a situation, before they use their guns they have a taser to try first if that doesn't or isn't possible to use then they have the option of using guns, if needed. Although, I do not like the fact that the taser related deaths have increased lately, but I do think that those incidents had more to do with the mis-use of the taser by the police officers rather that the actual taser itself. This article gives good insight into how police are going to monitor taser action more closely in the future and also it shows you the advantages to using tasers, that people usually forget about as soon as there is a death related incident.

8.The Province

Wednesday, December 12th, 2007

Suicides second-leading cause of child death in B.C. : report

By Staff reporter

In reading this article I was absolutely shocked at the statistics that were given. I knew that suicide has been a growing concern but I had no idea that it was the second-leading cause of preventable deaths in British Columbia, car accidents being the first. I did a project on suicide about five or six years ago and from what I can remember, the suicide rates were on a decrease. That is obviously not the case any more, it is extremely apparent that the suicide rates have gone up dramatically in the last few years and are very high in our own province. In this article, Kilpatrick said, "the increase in suicides is an obvious concern and we will be conducting a separate review of suicide deaths referred to the CDRU over the past five years to try to find some answers." The CDRU (child death review unit) will be conducting many more reviews to get more detailed reports. Also, most of the kids who died by suicide had "stated their intent prior to their death." This usually means these kids are reaching out and trying to seek help, they usually do not really want to die but they can't see any other way out.

This article caught my eye and is close to my heart because I have had an relative in which I was extremely close with commit suicide. She was only two years older than I was so it was very hard to deal with. The questions that go through the family and friends' heads are never-ending. I do not exactly know how or what people and organizations can do to help decrease suicide other than putting together more youth groups and activities and help lines. Another way is informing children in presentations on what to look for if one of your friends seems very unhappy in life and has threatened to commit suicide. I wish I had known what to look for and maybe things would be different but you can't go back in time, you can only go forward and help prevent things in the future.

People should not feel that suicide is the only way out. Sometimes people have their mind's made up and it cannot be stopped but many times people really do not want to end their lives. They will usually make it obvious that they are thinking about it and that is their way of reaching out. In many cases people who attempt suicide but do not succeed they are very grateful they still have their lives and will try and get help with depression and other illnesses. This article is a shocking realization for many people that this is a growing epidemic and it is very bad in our own community, we have to ban together and see what we can do to help decrease the statistics.

9.The Vancouver Sun

Wednesday, December 5th, 2007

Motive unknown in deadly Nabraska mall shooting

By Reuters/Chris VanKat

There seems to be more and more of these mass shooting in the United States. After reading this article I felt sick to my stomach, to think that all these people were shopping for Christmas presents and for no reason were shot dead. It is horrible to even imagine. In Omaha, on December 5th, a nineteen year old man opened fire "with a rifle inside a mall crowded with Christmas shoppers". He was said to be planning on taking own life that day when his suicide note was discovered by his mother, but not only did he take his own life but he took eight other lives right before he took his own and injured many others. I do no understand what would make someone take innocent lives for absolutely no reason. I can't even imagine what must have been going through everyone who was in the stores minds.

"Mass shootings periodically shock the United States, where gun ownership is widespread and the right to bear arms is a hotly contested constitutional issue." This is a continually asked question, should gun ownership be allowed in the United States. My opinion is definitely not. I do not understand why on earth they have not band gun ownership already. You would think they would have banned it a long time ago after the first few mass murders, but they haven't and they keep having these mass shootings. Recently, in mid-April, there was the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history at the Virginia Tech university killing 32 people, and in October 2006, a milk truck driver tied up and 10 Amish schoolgirls in their classroom, killing 5 of them and then himself. Obviously, tragedies like these will inevitably happen once and a while, but the fact that in the U.S. you are allowed to own guns it increases the odds of this happening dramatically.

In Vancouver, we have our own problems dealing with gun violence, and we are seeing more and more of it lately, and we are not legally allowed to own guns. I believe that if the United States were to ban gun ownership, the amount of mass shootings would decrease subsequently. This article was very shocking to read and was a terrible tragedy for the people of Omaha, and the loved ones of the people that were shot. The words that come to mind after reading this article was sick, terrible, horrific tragedy. I really think that they should either ban gun ownership or work towards stricter rules on owning them and maybe there wouldn't be as many shootings in the years to come.

10.The Vancouver Sun

Thursday, November 22, 2007
B.C. Will need more jail space for pot growers

By Chad Skelton



If the new federal legislation is approved, in British Columbia alone, there will be "700 more prisoners every year". There is a growing amount of pot growers in B.C. so, "you basically need a new prison to facilitate that," said Darryl Plecas, a criminologist at the University College of the Fraser Valley. To me, this was not as shocking to hear as it must have been for most. As a teenager in high school you are exposed to the realization that marijuana is becoming a part of many teens every day life. Under the law right now, someone convicted of growing "between one and 200 plants would receive at least six months," between 201 and 500 plants at least one year and 500 or more would receive at least a 2 year prison sentence. If this law were to be granted, the length of these sentences would be increased 50%. I am not exactly sure how I feel about the sentencing. Right now, only 10-15% of people convicted of growing marijuana serve any time in jail, but with these new regulations, they will be very harsh and many more people convicted will serve time. I don't smoke marijuana and I am not a very big fan of it for myself but I do not think it is as bad as people make it out to be; if used appropriately, the same as alcohol. I do not think it should be legalized though because quite often, when used inappropriately, (usually by teenagers) it can effect peoples lives greatly in a negative way. Although I believe it should not be legalized, I'm not positive I believe in how harsh the sentencing is.
* "I'd say we're at the limit," says Lisa Lapointe, the B.C. Corrections spokesman, it is astonishing that B.C. jails are at their limit. She goes on to say that the jails are packed and most of the inmates are already double-bunked, making it almost impossible to take in any more convicts. Because only 10-15% of people convicted of growing pot serve time, right now the other 85% do not serve any time at all; but with the new rules being set in stone that other 85% will almost definitely be serving time as well, and there is no space for them. I think that if B.C. jails are basically filled up then they should build more jail facilities. It is not fair that people convicted of crimes are not serving jail time due to the lack of space. This article was interesting to read because I didn't really know the severity of marijuana growers in our own province. I think that B.C. should definitely put more money towards the building of a few more jail facilities, but I do not think that the sentencing should be as harsh as it is, but that is just my opinion.