Indictment: the Criminal Justice System on Trial

Benjamin Perrin, photo supplied by author

With my Good Yarn Communications site now up and running, I’ve decided to publish all new Catalyst podcast episodes here among my blogs.

The following is a two-parter. It’s my conversation with law professor Benjamin Perrin, who teaches at the University of British Columbia’s Peter A. Allard law school. He has written a provocative new book. One, that 10-12 years ago, he never could have imagined reading, let alone writing. That’s when he served as chief justice advisor to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who prioritized a “tough on crime” agenda. For the advice he gave - and didn’t give, Perrin says he’s sorry.

Perrin’s apology and his bold transformative vision for a more compassionate, trauma-informed justice system are within the pages of Indictment: the Criminal Justice System on Trial. In this interview with Perrin, I ask him how and why the justice system is failing both victims and offenders. In Part two, we get right into the weeds about his suggestions for reform. I invite you to settle in for a thoughtful and informative discussion with Benjamin Perrin.

* there is a small mistake in one of the statistics cited in this interview. People who experience trauma are 50% (not 50 times) more likely to harm others later in life.