HUNTER: Activists targeting revolutionary crime-fighting tool

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“The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”— Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan

Particularly if you’re a crime victim in Canada.

One of the most revolutionary developments in solving murders, sex assaults, and identifying John and Jane Does has now come under the scrutiny of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.

A nearly 10,000-word opus entitled, Guardrails for Police Use of Investigative Genetic Genealogy in Ontario, obtained by the Toronto Sun, is packed with bureaucratese. The commission wants “guardrails” to derail police snooping in DNA databases. But cops don’t do that now.

They are not allowed.

Internet Genetic Genealogy has been the big bang in homicide investigations. In Toronto alone, 59 murders and sexual assaults have been cleared, along with the identification of those nameless individuals who ended up dead.

You may know the names: Christine Jessop, Erin Gilmour, Susan Tice and scores of others.

For the report, the commission invited a wide swath of people and groups to give their input. That includes cops, community groups and a slew of activists.

One law enforcement source — who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of their job — was blunt.

“There was a lot of typical left-wing representation. They didn’t appear there for the victims; they’re more worried about the rights of the perpetrators who committed these heinous crimes,” the source told the Toronto Sun. “They didn’t understand it.

“They did not get how homicide investigations are conducted and how IGG is utilized.”

The infamous case of the Golden State Killer had been ice-cold for decades until detectives used IGG that led them to Joseph DeAngelo, a former cop turned serial killer. Hundreds of other cases have been cleared as a result.

Closer to home, Toronto Police cold case detectives finally solved the horrific 1984 sex murder of nine-year-old Christine Jessop. The killer was a family friend named Calvin Hoover. Also solved using IGG were the 1983 murders of Susan Tice and Erin Gilmour. DNA pointed the finger at William Joseph Sutherland, 62.

The Nation River Lady, murdered and dumped off Hwy. 417 east of Ottawa, was also solved.

“The commission did its due diligence,” the law enforcement source said. “But they gave the floor to too many people who are clueless about this, people from the human rights commission, that sort of thing.”

The good news is that police services will follow the direction of the courts. The source doesn’t believe the courts will make any changes, but in Canada, you never know.

“They made a lot of recommendations that we’re already doing. But the fear is this could tie us up in more red tape than we’re already covered in,” the source said.

Another problem with the report is that it zeroes in on Indigenous and racialized offenders. Any cop will tell you the majority of unsolved murders involve the same two groups.

“Again, we’re seeing another government initiative that doesn’t address the needs of the majority,” the law enforcement source said. “Instead, they’re worried about the criminals. Those with the loudest voices at the hearings were the people who knew the least about IGG.”

But you’re not surprised, are you?

There are more than 700 unsolved murders on the books in Toronto. The number of Indigenous people across Canada, particularly women, whose murders have gone cold is mind-boggling.

Canada’s institutions are again focusing on the wrong things.

Fretting over privacy invasions (which cops are not doing now in the IGG realm) of killers or solving murders, bringing justice and peace to the victims and survivors?

That’s the choice. Pretty simple if you think about it.

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun

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