EDITORIAL

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE

Saint Croix Courier – May 20, 2008

Last week the RCMP from St. Stephen made a major announcement – 33 people have been arrested after a series of search warrants were executed. When the cases are brought to court, those arrested could face weapons, drug and child pornography charges.
Dubbed Operation Jerrican (a “J” operation because New Brunswick is the RCMP’s “J” Division), the arrests – 31 in St. Stephen and two in Saint John – followed a nine-month investigation and a series of raids at residences in St. Stephen and outlying areas as well as Saint John.
Our reporter set out to cover the press conference and to get a story on the police operation, the arrests and the possible nature of the charges. Word was already on the street about the raids, their nature and even their targets. The police, and the media, cannot name names at this stage. It’s a little caveat of our justice system that protects the rights of individuals until they have an opportunity to face their accusers in a court of law.
That has angered some citizens in the case of Operation Jerrican.
But the big story that our reporter and the other media came away with from last Thursday’s news conference was the outrage from a handful of citizens over the fact police made arrests yet those arrested aren’t in jail. At the news conference some of those citizens accused police of letting “criminals” roam free while the RCMP finish the “paperwork” in the case. Even the media has gotten on board with one editorial calling the force “irresponsible” and accusing the police of generating fear in the community by making a “premature announcement” of the arrests.
Someone needs to defend the Mounties here.
What happened last week is standard operating procedure. The Mounties do not, fortunately, have the authority to detain individuals unless they represent a clear and present danger to society. And when an alleged perpetrator is locked up, he or she is guaranteed a swift appearance in court while the onus to keep a person detained is entirely on the prosecution. We do not want to live in a society in which police can freely enter our homes and lock us up at will.
In a case like Operation Jerrican, the RCMP can’t and aren’t expected to lock up 33 people. Some of them may well face serious charges. Some may be charged with improperly storing a firearm. They can’t all be locked away until they appear before a judge and they can’t all be marched into court while police are still investigating, interviewing and gathering evidence. It isn’t feasible. It isn’t practical. It just doesn’t work that way.
Announcing the arrests was in no way irresponsible. St. Stephen is a small community. The police raids were no secret. People in town knew something was going on and they were already making up their own stories about it.
The RCMP simply did what the force does in these situations – they told the media and the public what has happened and what will happen next.
The reaction they’ve received has been out of line. It can be expected from people who are scared or frustrated or who don’t know a lot about how the justice system works. We in the media know better.
We know that those arrested in Operation Jerrican are not locked up now. They will appear in court at a later date when the charges they face will be read to them by a judge. They will plead guilty or not guilty. If they plead not guilty, trial dates will be set. It’s highly unlikely any of them will be incarcerated during any of this process (and it could be years-long). Jails are full already. There’s no room for people who have not even been found guilty.
We’re as repulsed at the nature of the charges as anyone. Drugs and child pornography are particularly stomach churning.
But the police are doing something. In a system that sometimes appears stacked against them, a system that so often handcuffs the police while protecting the rights of the accused, the RCMP are investigating. They are gathering enough information to gain search warrants. They are searching residences – an act, by the way, that by it’s very nature places the officers’ lives in jeopardy. And they are making arrests.
And then they’re telling the community about it. And for this, their community and the media are hammering them. Now that’s injustice.