The Winnipeg Police Service has defended how – and why – decisions are made to release suspects accused of crimes, under certain conditions before court proceedings.

The issue of releasing suspected repeat offenders and how bail and other forms of release are granted have become hot-button political issues at the local and national levels in recent years, following public scrutiny of cases in which individuals accused of violent offenses were subsequently indicted. further bloodshed after being released on conditions.

Canada’s prime ministers have called on the federal Liberal government to change the bail system.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has pledged to make “jail, not bail,” the law for repeat offenders if he is elected prime minister.

In Manitoba, Justice Minister Matt Wiebe announced a plan earlier this year to encourage Crown prosecutors to take a stricter approach to bail, although some prosecutors have criticized the policy in private.

The WPS says its hands are tied by recent changes to the Criminal Code in how supervisory officers determine who to release and who to detain, with press releases frequently including a line stating that releasing suspects on promise or summons is “required” by law. .

But current Manitoba prosecutors and a University of Manitoba law professor who recently spoke to the Free press say it’s a bad interpretation.

Police may, at their discretion, decide to release a person on an undertaking or notice to appear, which both require them to appear in court or recommend to Crown prosecutors that they be detained. If detained, the accused will then be given a hearing, during which the courts will determine whether to grant bail pending further proceedings.

WPS Sgt. Grant Lindgren, who long worked in the city’s police central processing unit, said changes to the Criminal Code that followed two Supreme Court decisions in 2017 have fundamentally changed the way police take decisions regarding detention and release.

“Detention is absolute, 100 percent, as a last resort…. We are obligated by law to release people as soon as possible and on the least onerous terms,” Lindgren said.

“Most importantly, the reasons we detain someone must be objective and reasonable grounds to believe they pose a continuing risk. »

He said that as a supervisor, when one of his officers makes an arrest, he must consider the person’s criminal conviction record for related offenses, their reasonable likelihood of appearing in court and their reasonableness and objective risk to public safety or recidivism, among other considerations.

Lindgren added that now, following changes to the law, police are able to impose certain release conditions, such as curfews, that they could not before.

“There are many hypotheses, but we cannot base an objective decision on a hypothetical scenario,” Lindgren said. “Assumptions are always a concern, because human nature is such that we (develop) an idea based on what might happen, but the principles of justice are such that your Charter rights are based on what is, not on hypotheses; it’s that simple.

A Crown prosecutor told the Free press It was “crap” that the police “continued to blame the code” when they released a defendant accused of committing a violent crime.

“The code allows us to detain people in cases of violence,” the prosecutor said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “There are definitely times where they release people and say it’s because of the code, and that’s not accurate.”

Brandon Trask, a law professor at the University of Manitoba who has worked as a Crown prosecutor in the Maritimes, said he found police use of the term “warranted” concerning.

“It is worrying that the public has the impression that our law mandates release. Our law, generally speaking, does not require release – it’s a matter of judgment,” Trask said.

“In many cases, this is simply not accurate, and I don’t understand why police continue to say that releasing an individual was mandatory. There are avenues in our Criminal Code…to take a person into custody.

Police have the “ultimate discretion” to release an accused on recognizance as they see fit, a second Crown prosecutor has said. “They can release them on recognizance without even contacting us,” said the prosecutor.

Lindgren said he believes the police department interprets the Criminal Code accurately. “If someone says later that you didn’t interpret it correctly, then that’s their prerogative.”

Winnipeg defense lawyer Chris Gamby said bail and other forms of release pending trial are the bedrock of Canada’s justice system – and stressed that it is a right guaranteed by the Charter.

“This is directly linked to the presumption of innocence: anyone arrested and charged by the police is presumed innocent, until a court decides otherwise,” Gamby said. “It is unpleasant, I think, to detain people before the final decision is made, but that is exactly what is necessary in some cases. »

Cases that require detention include those where the public is in danger, where the accused will not appear in court or if it would be shocking to the public to see the accused released on bail, undermining confidence in the administration of justice, Gamby said.

He said holding individuals without bail can upend defendants’ lives before their guilt or innocence is determined.

— With files from Dean Pritchard

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Erik Pindera
Journalist

Erik Pindera is a journalist at Free pressfocusing primarily on crime and justice. The born and raised Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic and wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ontario. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free press in 2020. Learn more about Erik.

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