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alternative sentencing

September-October 2011

Why mandatory minimum sentences cost billions—and don’t reduce crime

Graham F. Scott

“We do not use statistics as an excuse not to get tough on criminals.” That was federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson’s astonishing response to Statistics Canada’s finding in July that crime rates in Canada now stand at the same level they did in 1973. Don’t bother us with the facts, was Nicholson’s meaning, our minds […] More »