AUGUST 26, 2008

       Be on the lookout for escaped murderers and crazies. I always get a warm tingly feeling when the RCMP issues special statements about our jails not being able to contain felons.

       It happened earlier this week when five men escaped from a Saskatchewan jail. The government  said we shouldn’t be worried, media outlets and police told us to stay away from the men and presume they are “armed and dangerous.”

       Who should we believe?

       Based on the mens’ criminal pasts and the fact they are/were in the slammer for violent crimes, I don’t get a comfy feeling even after a government official has tried to ease public fears.

       Tammy Kirkland, executive director with the Ministry of Corrections, Public Safety and Policing, said there was a lot going on behind the scenes and Canadians shouldn’t have felt uneasy with the five men on the loose. (For the record, at least one of the men was recaptured hours after the incident on Sunday.)

       It took about 12 hours for a public notice to go out and Kirkland said the public was not in danger or at risk because local, provincial and national police all know who they were looking for.

       Oh, I get it. So the fact police identified the men should make us feel OK. “We know who we’re looking for so it’s all good.” Um, sorry, but unless those men are locked up and there’s absolutely no way for them to get out, I’m not going to feel confident in the justice system.

       Until then, I’d feel safer in jail. After all, there’s no criminals as they’re running free through our streets.