Michael Mulligan's article "Dangers lurk if police allowed to approve charges," (Times Colonist, Feb. 19) is right on point but for all the wrong reasons. He attempts to play upon people's fears and to make the police sound totally incompetent.

Mulligan has three points of why police should not lay criminal charges: Individuals charged by the police would forever have this subject to disclosure on their criminal records check; those charged by the police are subject to bail conditions; and a failed example of police incompetence in laying charges when they are required to do so under the current system on the weekends.

Mulligan is correct that the Criminal Records Review Act requires that people disclose they have been charged if they are applying for a job or volunteer position involving children or vulnerable adults.

However, he failed to include that a section on most criminal record checks also includes a check of local police databases where a person was investigated and listed as the subject or suspect. The safety mechanism is that the criminal record check is released only to the individual - that person can access the file through a freedom of information request and produce the best evidence to the employer or volunteer agency.

Mulligan asserts that short-term consequences of police laying charges would be bail conditions. Under the current system, individuals released from police custody can be placed on protective conditions (no contact or no access to a certain area). After a person is released by police or by a judge, a defence lawyer may apply to the court to have the conditions quashed or amended.

Mulligan is correct that your name can be published; however, in the current system, thousands of people are charged every year, yet only a few names are published, for reasons such as an appeal to other witnesses.

It may be Mulligan's perspective as a defence lawyer, but it is misleading to say "a substantial proportion" of the charges laid by police on the weekend need to be redone by Crown counsel and the police "routinely" lay the wrong charge.

I would challenge him to provide the statistics for this claim. When the police lay charges on the weekend, they are reviewed by a justice of the peace.

Criminal-charge approval should be left in the purview of Crown counsel. There are distinct roles in the criminal justice system, each with its own responsibilities and powers, for good reason. The role of the police should be the gathering of unbiased evidence and the role of Crown counsel should be properly assessing the evidence and deciding if it meets the standard set for prosecution.

Andy Stuart is a police officer in Greater Victoria. The views expressed are his personal opinion and do not represent those of his department.