Wednesday 25 January 2023

Unnecessary public shaming or effective police tool? Warrant Wednesday gets divided reaction in N.B.

 

Catherine Tait and her lawyer Sylvie Gadoury must understand why I was not surprised to see my comment about corrupt cops be blocked immediately

 

David Amos

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Wed, Jan 25, 2023 at 4:25 PM
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Wednesday, 25 January 2023

Unnecessary public shaming or effective police tool? Warrant Wednesday
gets divided reaction in N.B.
 
 

Unnecessary public shaming or effective police tool? Warrant Wednesday gets divided reaction in N.B.

Some N.B. police forces use social media to publish names of people who have outstanding warrants

They call it Warrant Wednesday.

Each week, the Woodstock and Kennebecasis police forces publish a list of people's full names, and sometimes the fines or jail time they owe, on Facebook.

Generally, these warrants are for people who have been convicted of something like a driving offence, but haven't paid a fine or done their jail time, or haven't appeared for their court date.

Woodstock has been doing it since November 2022, while Kennebecasis began the practice in January.

"This is just a new approach when we've tried everything, people are avoiding police, and we think we owe it to the public to execute these [warrants]," said Insp. Mary Henderson of the Kennebecasis Regional Police Force.

Henderson said in the first three weeks of January, they've resolved warrants with 12 people, some of whom had more than one warrant attached to their name. 

WATCH | Will 'Warrant Wednesday' work? 

Outstanding warrant? You could be outed on Facebook

Duration 2:32
“Warrant Wednesday” is the weekly practice in at least two New Brunswick police departments of publishing on social media the names and ages of people with outstanding warrants.

So far, the department has posted lists of people convicted of impaired operation of a vehicle, driving with a suspended licence and with outstanding arrest warrants. 

Warrant Wednesday could cause harm, says ethicist 

Timothy Christie, a philosophy professor at the University of New Brunswick who writes about ethics, doesn't believe Warrant Wednesday is fair. 

He said people are held accountable for their actions through the court system and receive penalties such as fines or jail time.

"They definitely deserve those things because they went through a process in court, where that was what was determined, and it was determined as an appropriate sanction," Christie said.

"Nowhere in that sanction did it include public shaming."

Henderson, however, said Warrant Wednesday is not about shaming people. 

A man in a red scarf, black coat and dark glasses is seen standing on a sidewalk. Timothy Christie, a UNB professor who writes about ethics, thinks Warrant Wednesday may have unintended consequences for those named in the posts. (Roger Cosman/CBC)

"It is a very public venue that people get to look at, but does that outweigh the need to execute these warrants and public safety?"

Christie said that the justice system imposes punishments on people so they can correct themselves and reintegrate into society. 

"This thing that the police are doing strikes me as not helping people reintegrate into society in a meaningful way, but actually will make things more difficult for them," Christie said. 

He said life may be more difficult because being named on Facebook could impact someone's reputation.

In the foreground of the frame is a patch on the shoulder of a police officer, in the background is the computer in his car with his hands on the keys. The Kennebecasis Regional Police Force started Warrant Wednesday in January. (Roger Cosman/CBC)

"[Warrant Wednesday] doesn't contribute to any of the long-term goals we have that we use for punishing people," he said.

Henderson disagrees with his assessment.

"I don't think someone shouldn't be able to reintegrate into society," she said. "They've been given ample opportunity by our officers [to resolve their warrants]." 

She said that if someone's warrant is resolved, their name is taken off the Facebook post. 

Criminologist sees value in Warrant Wednesday

Mary Ann Campbell, director of the Centre for Criminal Justice Studies at UNB Saint John, said police are part of the community and therefore some of the work they do requires the support and aid of the community.

And she thinks this is something that could work.

"I suspect it will be more effective than not. So having a list out there, there's probably at least one person on that list that someone might call the police about and let them know where they are," she said. 

 A woman is seen from the chest up sitting in front of her desk and monitors. She's wearing a blue cardigan and white shirt.Criminology professor Mary Ann Campbell said an initiative like Warrant Wednesday can help free up time for police to work on other matters. (Roger Cosman/CBC)

She added that eliciting simple tips from the public — like a phone call saying someone might be living or working somewhere — can help departments work on other issues.

"Those types of situations can save a lot of taxpayer dollars in allowing the police to apprehend that person quickly. Then they can dedicate their time to other types of criminal matters," she said.

But it's not just about posting names. The Woodstock force also includes memes — a  visual staple on social media —in its Warrant Wednesday posts.

A meme with Spongebob looking at a wanted posted that says "Wanted, Maniac".     A meme published by the Woodstock force for Warrant Wednesday. Campbell said whoever is making the posts need to ensure the memes don't miss the mark. (Woodstock Police Force/Facebook)

The Woodstock Police Force did not provide an interview for this story. The force did not respond to a question about its use of memes sent through email prior to the publication of this article. 

Campbell said the intent is likely a way to get people to look at the list of names.

"Whether using humour for a serious topic is the best way to go, I think, is something that's open to interpretation," she said.

She said it's important that whoever is making the posts needs to consider them carefully to ensure they don't miss the mark. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Lane Harrison is a reporter for CBC New Brunswick based in Saint John. You can reach him at lane.harrison@cbc.ca

 
 
1020 Comments
 
 
David Amos 
C
Methinks everybody knows that I have publicly shaming the police in social media etc since 2002 N'esy Pas?
 
 
 
David Amos 
C
Methinks everybody knows why I enjoyed the circus today N'esy Pas? 
 
 
 
Al Clark 
Gee, suddenly con commenters aren't so law and order anymore hah ha ha !
 
 
 
Wilbur Ross
Kennebecasis had Jeff Porter on paid suspension for 2 years after he committed 81 violations of the Police Code. They let that SO slip into retirement with over a million paid while under investigation. Bet he managed to avoid being put on SO list. No shame for that Dept: KV Finest. 
 
 
Al Clark 
Reply to Wilbur Ross 
Careful! Shhhhhh ;-)  
 
 
 
Wilbur Ross
Doesn't seem constitutional. Too bad this is NB; nothing will happen until one of the officers complains about a family member or friend that ends up being exposed. 
 
 
 
Robert Losier 
1000 comments and replies when I checked in just now. So I will leave it at that. 1000.
 
 
Steve Ryan 
Reply to Robert Losier
Partly due to the fact there's no action anywhere else.
 
 
Wilbur Ross 
Reply to Robert Losier
Half are your spam. 
 
 
David Amos 
Reply to Wilbur Ross
The tally was nearly 1000 12 hours ago  
 
 
 

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