crime – Page 2 – mackaycartoons

Tuesday August 23, 2016

August 22, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday August 23, 2016

Police chiefs want new law that would compel people to reveal passwords

Canada’s police chiefs want a new law that would force people to hand over their electronic passwords with a judge’s consent.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has passed a resolution calling for the legal measure to unlock digital evidence, saying criminals increasingly use encryption to hide illicit activities.

There is nothing currently in Canadian law that would compel someone to provide a password to police during an investigation, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Joe Oliver told a news conference Tuesday.

Oliver said criminals — from child abusers to mobsters — are operating online in almost complete anonymity with the help of tools that mask identities and messages, a phenomenon police call “going dark.”

“The victims in the digital space are real,” Oliver said. “Canada’s law and policing capabilities must keep pace with the evolution of technology.”

The chiefs’ proposed password scheme is “wildly disproportionate,” because in the case of a laptop computer it would mean handing over the “key to your whole personal life,” said David Christopher, a spokesman for OpenMedia, a group that works to keep the Internet surveillance-free.

“On the face of it, this seems like it’s clearly unconstitutional.”

The police chiefs’ resolution comes as the federal government begins a consultation on cybersecurity that will look at issues including the best way to balance online freedoms with the needs of police. The consultation runs until Oct. 15. (Source: CBC)

Wednesday January 13, 2016

January 12, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 13, 2016

The Blair roach project has won a powerful supporter.

Premier Kathleen Wynne said she is pleased Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked former Toronto police chief Bill Blair, now Scarborough Southwest MP, to lead the marijuana legalization efforts.

“I have a lot of respect for Bill Blair. I think that he’ll do a great job and his taking on of that role is the beginning of that national conversation that I said we have to have,” Wynne told reporters Monday at Queen’s Park.

The premier added that she was heartened that Blair is embracing her proposal to have cannabis sold through government-owned Liquor Control Board of Ontario outlets.

“I’m encouraged that he had, as a preliminary approach, that he thinks that it might make sense to use a distribution network that’s in place, . . . (although that’s) not a foregone conclusion,” she said.

“He’s got a lot of people to talk to and he’s got a lot of questions to ask and a lot of decisions to make over the coming months, so I look forward to that conversation.”

Blair, a rookie MP who is parliamentary secretary to Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, will work with a three-member cabinet team and a soon-to-be-named federal-provincial-territorial task force to develop the policy for legalizing marijuana.

On Friday, Blair said Ottawa will look to Colorado and other jurisdictions that have legalized marijuana sales.

“We have pretty robust systems of regulation for other intoxicants in this country, mostly overseen by the provinces, and so we’ve already got a model, a framework we can build on here,” he said.

“I think there are certain modifications or adjustments that we may have to make for cannabis as opposed to alcohol, but I think there is already a strong system in place for the control and regulation” of marijuana sales here.

The police veteran, who himself has never smoked marijuana, pointed out that it is “very difficult” for under-aged Ontarians to buy booze at the LCBO.

“You’re going to come up against a government employee who’s got regulations to enforce and is going to ask for identification and if a person’s under age, they’re not going to be able to buy that,” said Blair. (Source: Toronto Star)

Tuesday July 24, 2012

July 24, 2012 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday July 24, 2012

Toronto police funding ‘huge victory,’ says Mayor Ford

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford declared victory after getting an assurance Monday from the province that funding would continue for a special police unit charged with addressing the root causes of violence.

Funding for the Toronto anti-violence intervention strategy (TAVIS) unit comes from the province, and Ford said Monday that Premier Dalton McGuinty committed to extending that funding on a permanent basis.

“I think that’s a huge victory for the taxpayers of Toronto,” Ford said in brief remarks after a meeting Monday afternoon with the premier and Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair that was called in the wake of a recent spate of violent gun crime in the city.

“I take Mr. McGuinty at his word. He told me straight out and no, there was no BS. I wasn’t going to sit there and listen to it,” Ford said.

“I asked for funding for TAVIS and he said, ‘Yes, we’re going to continue funding TAVIS.’ That’s what the people want. People want to live in this great city, which it is, and people want to come here and create jobs and have a safe environment to create jobs.”

Chief Blair said the funding commitment from the province will allow police to build on what TAVIS has already accomplished and to plan future deployments.

The mayor has previously disparaged youth outreach initiatives as “hug-a-thug” programs, while the premier has said a balanced approach is needed, with a need to invest in both social programs and police initiatives.

In another development, Ford will meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Toronto on Tuesday to discuss gun crime. (Source: CBC News)

Saturday July 21, 2012

July 21, 2012 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Saturday July 21, 2012

Rob Ford’s gun crime call-in

Mayor Rob Ford says he wants to banish everybody convicted of gun crimes from Toronto, not just immigrants.

“I don’t care if you’re white, pink, or purple, I don’t care what country you’re from, I don’t care if you’re a Canadian citizen or not. All I’m saying is, if you’re caught with a gun and convicted of a gun crime, I want you out of this city,” Ford said on NewsTalk 1010 Thursday night during an interview in which he struggled to explain himself.

Ford said on AM640 on Wednesday that he would be asking the prime minister to look at “immigration laws” in finding a way to implement his exile proposal. Though federal immigration minister Jason Kenney said on Twitter that he agreed, the cryptic comment was generally received with a mix of anger and bewilderment.

Ford called in to the NewsTalk show hosted by John Downs and Ryan Doyle to address the criticism. He said he had spoken imprecisely in the Wednesday interview and had not meant to single out immigrants.

The new interview, however, was itself perplexing, sounding at times like an Abbott and Costello routine about the federal government as Ford uncertainly attempted to explain to Downs why he mentioned immigration laws if he had not been referring to immigration. (Source: Metro News)

Monday February 6, 2012

February 6, 2012 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Monday February 6, 2012

Offenders Everywhere

The names of dozens of alleged white supremacists in Canada are contained in files leaked by computer hackers in Europe intent on exposing hate movements, CBC News has learned.

The alleged white supremacists’ names were revealed earlier this month by members of a loose-knit group of hackers called Anonymous on a website called nazi-leaks.net, which is now offline.

In addition to emails and secret websites and blogs, the hackers uncovered photographs of children giving Nazi salutes at a gathering in Missouri, confidential legal documents and displays of Hitler tattoos.

“We can now begin to piece together a more accurate picture in terms of the distribution of these types of racist groups across Canada,” Loewen said.

Among the information hacked were the names of 74 Canadians — with associated street addresses, email addresses and passwords — who are members of Volksfront and Blood and Honour, along with 142 emails from people who had joined Blood and Honour’s Canadian online forum.

Meanwhile, Police in Ontario have arrested 60 men — including a daycare worker — and charged them with hundreds of child pornography offences.

The co-ordinated raids by 24 police forces across Ontario picked up the suspects in the days leading up to Thursday’s announcement.

“The is one of the largest co-ordinated efforts of its kind in Ontario,” said Det.-Sgt. Frank Goldschmidt of the Ontario Provincial Police. “We anticipate there will be several more charged.”(Source: CBC News)