Police, MPs meet behind closed doors to discuss bail reform in St. Thomas - The Turtle Island News

By Joe Konecny, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Aylmer Express Local police chiefs had a closed-door meeting to discuss bail reform with two Conservative Members of Parliament who sit on Canada’s House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in St. Thomas on July 24. The “Round Table on Crime and Justice”, organized by St. Thomas Police Chief Marc Roskamp and held at that station, included Deputy Chief Steve Bogart; Aylmer’s Police Chief Kyle Johnstone and Deputy Chief Chris Johnson; and MPs Andrew Lawton (Elgin–St. Thomas–London South) and Larry Brock (Brantford-Brant South-Six Nations). Journalists were not permitted to attend the round table session, but were allowed a 20-minute interview afterwards. MP Lawton said the police leaders at the meeting linked current bail policies to repeat offending and expressed concern