The Conservatives say that if they are re-elected they will formally list groups such as the Hells Angels as criminal organizations in an effort to “crack down on criminal gangs” and streamline prosecutions.

However, a criminologist said such an initiative would be difficult to implement and not useful as a law-enforcement tool.

“It sounds good, but in practice it’s a waste of money,” said Robert Gordon, a criminology professor at Simon Fraser University. “The issue was carefully discussed at the federal level. In the end there was no decision to go ahead and draw up lists of groups, for very practical reasons.”

At a campaign event in Surrey on Thursday, former MP Stockwell Day — along with Conservative candidates Dianne Watts (South Surrey-White Rock), Harpreet Singh (Surrey Newton) and Sucha Thind (Surrey Centre) — told reporters that a legislated list would make the criminal justice system more efficient by eliminating the requirement for the Crown to prove on a case-by-case basis that a specific gang is a criminal organization.

Day said a list will “make it easier to take these most dangerous of criminals and make sure they are off the streets and our communities are safe.”

Gordon outlined some of the problems with such legislation. He said criminal groups don’t keep membership lists and associating individuals with particular groups is difficult.

He suggested that Hells Angels are involved in criminal activity, however the Hells Angels as a motorcycle club isn’t necessarily engaged in organized criminal acts to the extent that people think.

Gordon pointed out that many groups deliberately avoid giving themselves names and are constantly evolving to keep from being labelled a criminal organization. One example is the drug turf war in Surrey, which is being fought by two unnamed groups.

“A lot of these issues around tagging members and tagging groups to ease the prosecution process have been widely discussed and set aside as impractical,” Gordon said. “The Tories are banging a law-enforcement drum, which is out of tune and a very old drum. It’s a pity that they’re wasting everybody’s time.”

The party also promised to increase annual funding for the Youth Gang Prevention Fund, which was launched in 2006 and provides grants and contributions to organizations that intervene directly with at-risk youth. Since its inception, the fund has supported 14 projects and is currently supporting 12 additional organizations.

The fund currently receives $7.5 million each year, which would be increased to $10 million per year if the Tories are re-elected.

“We want to prevent our children from being recruited into gangs, from being recruited into criminal organizations and criminal lifestyle,” said Watts, who is also the former mayor of Surrey.

Garry Begg, federal NDP candidate for Fleetwood-Port Kells, suggested the announcement was nothing more than an empty promise for votes.

“Initially, I thought, ‘It’s always nice to receive additional funding’ — but what took so long and why, on the eve of an election, are we trying to make up for 10 years of neglect of policing?” Begg asked. “I think it’s clearly designed to appeal to acertain segment that this is something that can be resolved overnight and with little effort.

“Realistically, these are historic problems that need well-thought-out solutions.”

Randeep Sarai, federal Liberal candidate for Surrey Centre, also noted that the Conservatives’ plan to name gangs seems to be misdirected.

“If you look at it, these are young kids in their teens or early 20s who are involved in crime,” he said. “They’re not a big organized gang ... so the strategies the Conservatives have will have little to no effect.”

Sarai suggested focusing on youth unemployment and education to get at the root of the problem.

Begg cautioned voters to be wary of the Conservatives’ plan.

“I would say the Conservative government is very good at making promises, but they’re not very good at keeping promises,” said Begg.

Groups operating in B.C. that could be added to a list of criminal organizations:

Red Scorpions

United Nations

Independent Soldiers

Hells Angels

jensaltman@theprovince.com

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