In spite of that, the Naticnal Parole Board thought he was nice enough to be Iet out of jail after serving seven years of a life sentence, Today, Foster would not be eligible for such a fast parole ; because the rules changed when the death penalty was wiped off the books in 1976. But the case shows how dumb parole boards can be, given the opportunity. “Criminals can fool PhDs without even blinking. They can also fool people who Should know better, like ordinary folk who find themselves on ~ parole beards.”’ they are but in to stay that, Not only desperately keen employment, which is not surpris- ing secing that Sentencing Commission has recommended that parolé be abolished. _ Anyway, i have now been given a glimpse of how the top brains in i the board work, because someone f has slipped the board’s blueprint s for glory under my door. And I > am not impressed. I am more con- vinced than ever that. the sooner + parole boards go the way of ail flesh the better off we will be. ft: is a document. that would B delight: James Boren, author of t Fuzzify. It appeared under the signature of Ole Ingstrup, the board’s boss, and for all the sense _ | it makes might: have been written -f-in Danish, Mr. Ingstrup’s native language. ‘f.-- One expects fuzzification from : bureaucrats, but this creation is a J. winner. What do you make of this -J/ gem, for example? ‘ “The release criteria, as found 9 in the offence specific policics do f not require release, where, in the opinion of Board members and i specified in the reasons for the decision, the release of the of- A BURNABY man will return to later this month for a preliminary . hearing on a charge of obstructing justice. ‘< Terry Francis Clarkson, 22, is ‘ obstruct justice between Aug. 17° ‘and Dec. 16, 1987, by dissuading a - woman from giving evidence when he was being tried on a charge of personation. North Vancouver _ provincial court Judge J.D. Layton scheduled the hearing for Jan. 12, Doug Collins THE MAN who killed a woman and two 12-year-old girls out in Chilliwack recently was, you might say, noi a nice | guy. Fifteen years before that, he had beaten an 18-ycar- old Kelowna girl to death with 2a crowbar, wrapped her in chains, and dumped the body into Okanagan Lake. the Canadian © North Vancouver provincial court . accused of wilfully attempting to - 9 - Friday, January 8, 1988 - North Shore News | Prope Unreresteo IN LIVING IN A f HOUSING CO-OPERATIVE B PLEASE CONTACT ® get this straight @ f HUMANA CARE & 7 HOUSING ASSOCIATION AT 689-3613 fender would constitute an unac- ceptable risk to society."” This draft document bulges with references to ‘‘core vatues,"’ “mission statements,"’ ‘‘release criteria,’’ ‘“‘CASE SPECIFIC FACTORS,’* and similar mumbo-jumbo. All of which in- dicates that these guys are fascinated by their own fuzzify- | ing. Which may explain why they can't recognize a bad cgg when they see one. When relative clarity pokes its head through the thicket, the news is still bad. There is talk of ‘‘assessors,”’ and one gets the im- pression that the parole board acts as if it were a bunch of ICBC of- ficials judging car accidents. Viz: “Risk (in granting parole) will be assessed according to the Deci- sion Making Policies which apply J to the ADMITTING OFFENCE, and the avaiiable information on the level! of recividism that is associated with that offence swe Ch SoM PM "VUHLCEK SCO ee Cee ee’ as We learn also that an offender is less likely to ‘‘re-offend"’ if he goes to jail for drug offences, in- cest, sexual intercourse with a minor, gross indecency or homie COMPARE QUALITY & PRICE These parole board birds try to classify criminals as if they were | apples or spuds. Good quality ones go inte this bin, the not-so- | good into that, according to “risk categories."” That's what the statistics show, you see. . Only trouble is that people ~ in- | cluding criminals are not statistics. Criminals can fool PhDs without even blinking. They can also fool people who should know better, like ordinary folk who find themselves on parole boards. They can do this because monsters rarely look like monsters. They can look like milksops and talk like saints. A case in point was the guy who cold-bloodedly killed the Brinks guard in Park Royal. And the } parole board member doesn’t sec the victim who had his face shot | away. Mike Hale, a National Parole Board spokesman, stated last Ju- | ly that ‘‘advances in the social sciences over the last decade make ' it easier to assess risk.’’ Tell that to the two little girls and. the woman murdered in Chilliwack, Mr. Hale. And to the many others who have died at the hands of killers for whom the § board has had a soft spot. ' Save at Contour: Similar product at: Woodward's Eaton's Over 50 stores across Canada we Clearbrook: Westoaks Mall 852-4900 Vancouver: 1925 W. 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