As Sault Ste. Marie's police chief is advocating for a change in so-called 'catch and release' policies from the provincial and federal government, one local man is facing numerous charges just last month, including stealing items from a police car.
In November alone, twenty-eight-year-old Jody Burns has been picked up by police a number of times. None of the charges in this article have been proven in court.
Most recently, Burns was expected in court to answer a theft under $5,000 charge for allegedly stealing personal items from an unattended police vehicle.
"I can confirm on November 10, 2022 around 3:30 p.m. a bag, containing blank documents and clothing, was taken from a cruiser which had its emergency lights activated while responding to an unrelated incident at the intersection of Carmen’s Way and Albert Street West," said Lincoln Louttit, spokesperson for the department.
Burns was apprehended a short distance away, said Louttit and all items were returned to the officer.
Louttit said the accused was released on a promise to appear for the Nov. 28 court date, but court records show Burns did not attend.
Two days prior to that alleged theft, Burns was arrested and charged with fraud under $5,000 and theft under $5,000 after an alleged fraudulent $1,200 cheque was deposited at Money Mart in Sault Ste. Marie. He is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 23 for those two charges.
Then on Nov. 19, nine days after being charged with theft from the police car, Burns was again arrested and charged with theft under $5,000 after a crossbow was stolen from Canadian Tire on Gt. Northern Road. At that time, he was additionally charged with failure to appear and being in possession of a credit card knowing it was obtained illegally.
On the fourth of November, Burns was charged with theft under $5,000 after he allegedly took a credit card from a person.
In addition to these charges just in the last month, Burns is also facing numerous failure to appear and failure to comply charges for not appearing on his scheduled court dates, as well as failing to report in person to a probation officer.
Although Burns is facing numerous charges, the ones currently in front of the court are not violent in nature.
Bill C-75 updated the bail provisions in Canada’s Criminal Code in 2019, directing police and judges to follow a “principle of restraint” when it came to imposing bail conditions.
In July, Chief Hugh Stevenson of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service spoke to the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) board about the issue of catch and release. In turn, FONOM is lobbying the provincial and federal governments to make changes to the practice, said chair Danny Whalen.
“It’s a problem with the justice system," said Whalen, speaking generally about the issue.
"They finally make an arrest and get them into the courts — even before the officer is done with his reporting the individual is back out on the street and another officer is charging them with a second violation. It’s just become repetitive, it’s a revolving door at the courthouse,” he added.
Whalen said FONOM's 'catch and release' working group lost some momentum when some of its members were not re-elected during the recent municipal election.
“It means we are starting over again,” said Whalen. “It’s still a hot topic, but we have to get our working group back together."