crime and Bs} punishment VITTORIO and Anna Lippuci were married for 62 years. Unfortunately, they will never see their 63rd anniver- sary. But not because of the onslaught of advancing years as should have been the case, but rather because of some street scum who chose to feed their drug habits by viciously assaulting and robbing elderly people in their own homes. Anna Lippuci was beaten to death on the floor of her own kitchen. An isolated incident, you might ask? Hardly. There were three other such incidents that same night alone in the City of Vancouver. The scourge of the 1990s: home invasions. Is-_ there a more frightening crime than armed intruders forcing their way into your home with the sole intention of beating money out of you? In the wake of this tragedy, the Attorney General, Ujjal Dosanjh, was quoted in a recent Sunday Province, as calling the killing “shocking and disturbing.” He continued by saying, “there has to be a comprehen- sive solution to this. We have poured money into crime pre- vention and we will continue to do so.” Huh? Those of you who are reg- ular readers of this space will know I harbor no illusions about the competence of this asy ride Attorney General. He wasn’t in the job a menth when, cur- ing the Gustavson Lake inci- dent, the RCMP had to hold a news conference to say Dosanjh didn’t know what he was talking about, in order not to escalate the very deli- cate state of affairs. It is truly comforting to know he will continue to “pour money” into crime pre- vention as a method to fight home invasions. This inanity came less than a week after another Dosanjh gem. Following yet another innocent death at the hands of a juvenile car thief, Dosanjh suggested we get really tough on car thieves by taking away their opportunity to get a dn- ver’s licence unui they turned 21 years old. It hadn't occurred to our deep thinking Attorney General that these street rats didn’t have a licence in the first place and, frankly, could- n’t give a tinker’s darn about such niceties. Last month the A.G. trot- ted out his plan to handle the rising crime numbers. He sug- gested “non-violent” offend- ers be dealt with in ways other than jail. As usual, Dosanjh thinking was more shallow than a pros- titute’s vow of chastity. Recently, nwo Coquitlam Mounties were forced tu fire ata stolen Jeep Cherokee being driver. at them by a car- load of teenage thieves. Two of the youths were hit by police bullets. Evidently, they were not concerned about the fact they didn’t have a driver’s licence. Just for the record, I refuse to use the word “joyride” in dealing with teens stealing cars. Too many people are get- ting killed, too many families are being destroyed by these no-brained idiots for me to see much “joy” in what they do. Charges of possession of stolen property and dangerous operation of 4 motor vehicle have been laid against the dri- ver of the stolen vehicle. Neither charge is classified as a violent offence. Yer, even though the facts, as alleged, are that he tried to run down two RCMP members trying to arrest him, he would quali- fv for Dosanjh’s “non-violent” oftender boondoggle and not see the inside of a jail. For some bizarre reason, the rest of the thieves will not be charged with possession of stolen property even though they clearly were all involved in the theft. Apparently, according to the AG, only the person dri- ving is deemed to be subject to criminal charges. Is crime running rampant? Nui if you ask Stats Can or the oft-quoted professor of Criminology at SFU, Neil Boyd. In the City of Vancouver there were just over 4,000 car thefts in 1993. In 1996 there were over 8,000. So far this year, there have been over 10,500. And the year is only half over. Do va think there’s a problem? The AG’s solution to all of this is to spend money trying to educate people to lock their doors and not be a victim while at the same time cnsur- ing the scumbags breaking through those doors are given more opportunity to avoid jail, the only thing which keeps them out of your house and car. Nero fiddles while Rome burns. Anna Lipucci is an unfortunate victim of that “fire.” Moving Out last day Sunday June 28 BOUTIQUE 30.60: L» to OFF Entire inventory including GUND * TY * ANNE GEDDES * SESAME STREET & LOONEY TOONS NEWS photo Brad Ledwidge Nimble feet MARIAN Rose and Friends entertained at Lonsdale Quay’s Harbour Stage at last Friday's Community Dance Party during Lower Lonsdale Community Celebration Day. a ‘the Whether you are shopping for a car of truck, getting your Chrysler A built vehicle serviced or looking for genuine Chrysler parts & accessories, you will experience “Truly Outstanding Service”. f Mountview Dodge Chrysler Jeep promises to deliver the highest level of customer service in the industry: day in, day out! “Best selection, Best price, Best service” is much more than our slogan: it is our absolute committment to our customers from each and every member of the Mountview family. Ali Bani-Sadr, V.P. & General Manager 97 MCON;, 4 dr Highline | air conditioning & automatic *Bused on 30 month lease, T.P. $10,764 O.A.C. All prices net of rebates Thats right, drive 2 away for only $299 Park Royal North Store clases Sunday June 29