Questiona and answers

Question 6

After the rumours concerning the disappearance of prostitutes in Vancouver and the focus on the increasing number of missing women, the police eventually took notice. Critically, the police department in Vancouver established a team of police officers with an aim of reviewing cases that concern missing women that have been unresolved since 1971. This task was carried out by Kim Rossmo, who profiled the files of missing women based on physical locations and factors ( Therefore, the police sought to establish the trail of the crime of disappearance of women within the jurisdiction of Vancouver. They also sought to establish a watertight case that could be easily prosecuted in a court of law, and conviction of the offenders of such a crime.

It is because of this that a pig farmer named Robert Pickton goes on trial pertaining six murders committed on January 22. One of the people that disappeared is Sarah deVries who got lost out of sight in the spring of 1998, and had worked as a prostitute in downtown Vancouver. These reports elicited a reaction through a report contained in the March 3, 1999 edition of the Vancouver Sun, which reported the disappearance of sex trade workers ( The shock that came about because of this led to immense media coverage and investigation carried out by the police. Therefore, they charged him with the offence of murdering six women as well as trial for the first degree murder of twenty other women.

Despite prostitutes being perceived by the society as people involved in illicit trade in many parts of the world, including Vancouver, it is wrong to murder them ( Therefore, it does not matter on whoever disappears. The only consideration is that an individual may have disappeared, and there is need to stop the unnecessary vanishing of people through unexplained mechanisms. This protection and reporting should also cover those that are involved in sex trade. As Kines reports these stories, the unspoken reality is that the disappearance of women involved in drugs and sex trade also constitutes a criminal offence in the society (. If I was in their position, I would feel bad because the police have failed to find my missing relatives. The relaxed response would make me believe that the police are not concerned about the welfare of its citizens. Therefore, I would establish that my local police force has failed to stop the forced or unexplained disappearance of my relatives or members within my society.

Question 7

The charges against Robert Pickton were stayed by the Crown Counsel because Sandra Grail Ringwald was afraid to testify against him (Cameron, 2010). While there was overwhelming evidence that there were cases of unlawful confinement and aggravated assault against her, the charges could not be sustained because the complainant failed to testify in the case. In this case, it can be argued that Ringwald was afraid that Pickford, the brother as well as Hells Angels associates would revenge against her for testifying (Cameron, 2010). It means that the fact that she was willing to testify but did not do so is a clear indicator that the charges that were brought to the court could not be sustained. Therefore, the charges had to be stayed before they even went to trail. It means that the justice system failed to protect Ringwald or the other women that died in the property owned by Pickton.

In many cases, the victims of criminal offences are unwilling to participate within the criminal justice system. This could be in the form of declining to provide the necessary evidence through examination in a court of law. The absence of such evidence makes it difficult to sustain a criminal charge during the adjudication of the case (Cameron, 2010). Often, it negatively affects the administration of justice as the perpetrators of the crime are granted freedom. On the other hand, the victims do not get justice, and instead they end up being victimized for abetting the crime. Therefore, there is a miscarriage of justice whenever there is no protection guaranteed to the victims or witnesses of crimes in a society such as the one Ringwald lived in.

 

Question 8

Each case is usually unique and depends on the circumstances that underpin it or the unfolding events which surround it. Therefore, it is true to state that victims cannot be the same, and each of them has a story to tell. For instance, the story of the missing and murdered women provides different harrowing tales as told by family members and friends about the disappearance of loved ones. They all have different tales, and critically present their experiences in the Downtown Eastside (Cameron, 2010). It means that it is impossible to carry out generalizations of the victims’ stories as this will mean dismissing the suffering and tragedy that these women encounter in their lives. It should be a reminder that it is not recommended to be scornful of these people as all of them have different stories to tell on how they have suffered within the society.

The common themes that emerge from the past of the victims is that they major come from the indigenous populations or the Natives of Canada (Cameron, 2010). Additionally, they are also poor as demonstrated in their low socio-economic statuses. It is this poverty that drives these people or victims to engage in activities or conducts that are considered to be criminal in nature. These include the sale and use of drugs and prostitution. They may also be members of criminal gangs within the downtrodden parts of the cities. In many cases, the women cannot take care of their children, and end up in the safety homes. As such, it is reiterated that the themes that underpin the past of the victims is characterized by drug problem and prostitution. Moreover, most of them have been victims of vices and crimes such as assault, confinement, sexual assault and even rape.

Question 9

The surveillance team had followed Pickton and did not find anything to be suspicious such that adequate evidence world be generated to enable the Crown Counsel to mount a viable prosecution. Besides, the decision by the police to focus on Willie failed to yield any leads as it also brought the question whether two serial killers would have been responsible for murdering sex-trade workers from the Downtown Eastside (Cameron, 2010).Therefore, the absence of adequate evidence to justify taking out a search warrant in Pickton’s could not be obtained. It is because of the stalling of the investigation and the stopping of the surveillance that the families of the missing women felt that they had limited options. They thought that only the reports such as Linday Kines, Peter Warren, the Vancouver Sun and the CKNW could help in unravelling information about these unexplained disappearances. It is for this reason that the reward of $ 100,000 was offered by the family pertaining to information leading to arrest of the perpetrators of the forced disappearance of the women (Cameron, 2010). The VPD response would have been different if they found the bodies of the victims as they would have the objects to carry out forensic analysis. They could find crucial information such as fingerprint information, sites of crime and possible identities of the victims amongst other factors that would have made it easier to establish the identities of the perpetrators.

Question 10

In their study of the RCMP, it is observed that factors such as solidarity, authoritarianism, suspicion, conservative outlook and prejudicial attitudes created a police subculture (Murphy McKenna, 2007, p.6). Under the aspect of solidarity, police officers tend to be loyal to their fellow officers above any other individual. This is witnessed when a police officer calls the Mission RCMP station and immediately a Constable by the name Chris Annely who is on duty responds in his cruiser (Cameron, 2010). Annely proceeds as directed by the other officer to meet Wilson with the aim of retrieving the body that has been found abandoned by the highway. Authoritarianism comes in when there is a belief and willingness by an officer to exercise coercive power over others. For example, Tevlin and Rossmo argue that they have wrongfully been dismissed from the police force (Cameron, 2010). Particularly, they argue that the police board under the management of the deputy chief John Unger was high-handed in their treatment. This is evident in the case of Unger’s coercive power because he did not like the promotion of Rossmo from a constable to a detective inspector. In this case, it is reported that the high-handedness of the senior officers at VPD led to the mistreatment of the subordinate officers by those in supervisory duties. Such officers within the lower cadres were arbitrarily dismissed or stopped from engaging in activities that may give the force a bad name in the view and perceptions of members of the public.

Additionally, the suspicion that results from the mistrust of other officers may come up because of the perception that they have had negative contacts with non-officers. In this case, it can be demonstrated that Tevlin believes that he may have been dismissed because of his close working relationship with journalists like Bohn and the media. Moreover, they may have a conservative outlook of different situations based on moralistic or negative considerations about the nature of police work (Cameron, 2010). In this case, the police were reluctant to look for the missing women because they believed that they should suffer their fate as they engaged in prostitution and sex trade which are considered to be immoral in the Canadian society. Finally, prejudicial attitudes that involve prejudging others based on stereotypes based on an officer’s values and experiences also influenced how the RCMP operated. While the police believed that the person that was killing the women may have been a serial killer, VPD still believed that it was not their responsibility to try to find and prosecute the criminals (Cameron, 2010). Instead, they focused more on hypothesizing the reasons why serial killing had become a common occurrence in the area. In essence, this created a subculture within VPD that hindered its ability to investigate the persons that may have perpetrated the crime within their area of jurisdiction.

Question 11

The crown is required to prove for the continuity of exhibits during a criminal trial as was demonstrated in the steps taken by the police while searching the Pickton farm (Cameron, 2010). First, the police have to guard the property as Paradis did while a search warrant is sought and obtained. It is after obtaining this warrant that the search of the trailer belong to Willie and other cars was carried out. It is important for the police to log or note the items that have been seized. Moreover, these items that have been seized can only be stowed in exhibit lockers to the police station or headquarters, in this case RCMP’s Coquitlam headquarters (Cameron, 2010). Thereafter, the police will be required to draw a flowchart of the things that had occurred.

Further, the police will be required to make follow ups with the complainants or victims to gather more evidence about the things pertaining to the crime that had happened. It is only after establishing a water-tight link between the exhibits that have been collected and the crime that the police and the prosecution should press for charges in the court of law. Critically, the log of the exhibits should be a reflection of the objects or pieces of evidence that can help in sustaining a charge against the accused persons in a court of law (Cameron, 2010). In this case, the Crown Counsel or the individuals charged with the prosecutorial duties will be required to have a flow chart of any stage when the exhibit comes into play within the case. It is only when these exhibits can be related to the actual crime that it is possible to establish a case that can lead to a conviction of the criminal offenders.

Question 12

First, it is noted that the judge noted during the preliminary hearings that if the evidence presented by the prosecution could not withstand the attacks by the defence, then the case would be weak. It could also be thrown out by the judge handling the matter (Cameron, 2010).The resumption of the preliminary hearing that included the testimony of the last seen witnesses before the victims disappeared did not sustain the charges in the other twenty counts of first-degree murder that were dismissed. Despite the fact that more charges kept on appearing, it was not anticipated that the prosecution could manage the logistics of handling the several photographs and pieces of evidence (Cameron, 2010). Moreover, few witnesses were cross-examined in court other than Ringwald. Essentially, the evidentiary scope within this criminal trial made it impossible to sustain the other counts of murder. This is because it involved thousands of exhibits that were meant to prove the guilt of Pickton.

The case was also unique in the sense that while the preliminary prosecution was conducted, new evidence was also recovered and presented in court (Cameron, 2010).The implication is that this brought about procedural problems for either sides of the case, including the prosecution and the defence. In such instances, the cases that could be proved and have the evidentiary backing included those of the six victims that were confirmed to have been murdered by Pickton and within his farm. However, any attempt to prove the other twenty counts was impossible because the evidential value of the evidence collected from Pickton’s farm could not sustain the charges of first-degree murder beyond reasonable doubt.

Question 13

“I think this trial might expose the juror to something that might be as bad as a horror movie, and you don’t have the option of turning on the TV” (Cameron, 2010, p.700). This quote is interesting because at times, it may be difficult to ensure the proper administration of justice because there is lack of a well-constituted court or jury to hear the matter. It is especially common when the criminal matter to be adjudicated upon is complicated or gruesome to an extent that it leads to the recusal of a judge or difficulty in the constituting of a jury. In the case against Pickton, even Judge James Williams contended that it would be difficult to find persons to sit in a trial jury involving Pickton who had been accused of murdering many women. It requires sturdy individuals with clear minds who can adjudicate the criminal case in a free, fair and fast manner. Essentially, this is meant to demonstrate that it is crucial to have a tribunal court or jury that is both willing, qualified and prepared to handle a case that comes before it. Such a body or entity charged with the adjudication of a criminal matter must be seen go be serving the interests of justice such that both the victim and offender can relate to the verdict.

References

Cameron, S. (2010). On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver's Missing

Women. Canada: Knopf Canada.

Murphy, C., & McKenna, C. (2007). Rethinking police governance, culture and management. Halifax, NS

Dalhousie University.