B.C. police bar criminals from red zones

Red zones are mainly a B.C. thing. They exist in Vernon, Kelowna, Kamloops and Nanaimo, for example. “I’ve never heard of it, and I’ve served all over Alberta,” said Sgt. Darrin Turnbull, a spokesman with the Alberta RCMP. However, it’s routine for offenders to be ordered to avoid locations connected to their crime. The notorious Atlantic Canadian art thief, John Mark Tillmann, has been ordered to stay away from museums, libraries and archives. Judges may also impose banishment when a regular restraining order doesn’t work. In 2002, spousal abuser Ronald Felix was banished from his hometown of Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., because it was deemed to be too small for him to keep the requisite 100 metres or so distance from his victim at all times. DO THEY WORK? Sort of. Red zones can be great at clearing a specific area of crime. But, as has been noted in other communities, the ultimate effect can be to push criminals into another part of town. Vernon RCMP have reported their red zones instantly clear areas of drug activity and property crimes, but that as offenders were driven out “they move to another coordinate around the city.” In Kamloops, a similar result prompted city officials to compare red zones to a balloon: push down on one part of the balloon, and the air rushes to another part.

IS IT LEGAL? Parole conditions can be extensive and, with proper justification, a geographic ban isn’t that big of a stretch. Where it might get murkier is in cases where someone has not yet been convicted, yet is still banned from the red zone under release conditions. This is the idea with the Maple Ridge red zone: it is being used to deal with offenders who continue break-ins “even after they have been arrested and are awaiting their court process to begin.” Imposing behaviour conditions is standard procedure when an accused criminal is released. The standard Canadian “promise to appear” form even includes a blank section where an arresting officer can write in all the places the accused can’t go. Still, there is a judge in the equation — a red zone ban can’t simply be a unilateral action by the RCMP. If the Maple Ridge force tries to get a judge to hand a red zone ban to a first-time shoplifter, for instance, it will probably be turned down.