You’ve just been stabbed in the leg. Punched in the face and had your purse stolen. Sexually assaulted by your ex-boyfriend.
Most people’s first call would be to 911. But what if dialling for help meant you might end up in jail?
People with outstanding warrants, which means they face criminal charges but have missed their court dates, are often victims of crime themselves, said Edmonton police Insp. Dan Jones.
Outstanding warrants also hang over the heads of some people who want to access social programs but don’t because they’re afraid of getting arrested when they identify themselves. People who are homeless might put off signing up for housing programs because they never dealt with a shoplifting charge they picked up three years before.
“People’s lives get interrupted,” Jones said. “They don’t feel they can get housing, they don’t feel that they can get services or care because they have warrants.
Edmonton police are piloting a new program out of the downtown division to help vulnerable people dealing with outstanding warrants: a special “barriers reduction” constable is working with social agencies to help people get the support they need as they go through the process.
If police find out a person they encounter is wanted, they are “duty bound” to execute the warrant, Jones said. That means placing the person under arrest, even if the warrant is for something minor such as an old vandalism charge, even if the person in question was just a victim of a crime themselves.
Executing all warrants is listed as a duty under the provincial Police Act, and failure to do so could result in a neglect of duty charge, according to the act’s accompanying regulations.
But Jones said officers do have discretion about how they handle the situation once they find out the warrant exists. Usually, police can issue a “promise to appear,” which means people are given future court dates they promise to attend. That way, they don’t have to go to jail to await bail hearings before a justice of the peace.
“Especially when they are proving that they have a place, and that they’re in a program and they’re trying to better themselves — what would a short jail term in remand centre do for that person other than interrupt their healing journey?” he said.
If someone with warrants is assaulted, all officers, not just the special constable, should focus on the victimization, Jones said. And unless that person is wanted for a serious offence like homicide, they should be released on a promise to appear.
“Every police officer can use that type of discretion, and we hope that they do,” Jones said. “The majority of people don’t want to arrest a victim.”
For about a year, Jones’ downtown community and crime management team has worked on partnering with agencies like Boyle Street Community Services and the Bissell Centre to support people who want to get warrants dealt with but are wary of police. The dedicated “barrier reduction” constable has been in place for about a month.
‘Take box cutters to the box’
Mark Cherrington, with the Coalition for Justice and Human Rights, said the new initiative is a positive step. But he wants officers to have the discretion to not execute a known warrant.
Picking up a young woman “dabbed up” (stabbed) in the arm. She wont report this to the police as she has warrants. Creep who did this laughed at her about calling the cops.
—@MarkCherrington
Cherrington recently took to social media to share a story about a woman who was stabbed in the arm. She refused to call 911 because she had an outstanding warrant, and was afraid that EMS would call police.
“We still have the fundamental problem where we still have vulnerable people — particularly, my concern is Indigenous women — who have all these nuisance warrants for non-violence,” he said.
Cherrington said police are highly trained and professional, and officers should have the power to use discretion when executing warrants. He said another possibility is opening a warrant court, which would allow people to show up in court and have their warrant dealt with directly, without having to interact with police.
“We need to not only think outside of the box, we need to take box cutters to the box,” he said. “We need to provide a realistic opportunity and a new way of thinking of how we deal with vulnerable people who have warrants.”
‘Preliminary step’
The province launched a review of the Police Act in September 2018. At the time, the justice and solicitor general department was hosting consultations with more than 250 stakeholders, including groups representing Indigenous and rural Albertans, victims of crime, and health, social services and law enforcement agencies.
In response to questions about the status of the review, department spokesman Jason Maloney said the justice minister recently received a summary of those initial discussions.
This is just a preliminary step and more work remains, Maloney said in an email.
“Information will not be publicly ready until later this year when the minister and government will be able to review the full report before deciding on any potential next steps,” he said.
Asked if legislative changes related to warrant execution would be helpful, Jones said police can work with the latitude they already have. In addition to the ability to hand out a promise to appear, he said, officers have discretion about whether or not to run someone’s name to check a warrant.
Jones said if police don’t execute the warrant, it remains hanging over the individual’s head. He said dealing with the warrant can be a “weight lifted,” and allow people to move on with their lives.
The pilot project is still in its infancy, and Jones said the results will be monitored to determine the program’s future.