Car thieves need help, second chance: mother

Many Winnipeggers are calling for tougher penalties for teen car thieves in the wake of recent high-profile theft cases, but others including police, prosecutors and the offenders' parents say it's a complex problem requiring a comprehensive solution.

Earlier this month, six boys in Winnipeg stole two Cadillac Escalades and smashed them after leading police on a chase that reached speedsaround 100 km/h.

'Everybody makes mistakes and everybody deserves a second chance.' Teen suspect's mother

CBC News spoke to a 15-year-old boy who was involved.

"I felt pretty good," said the teen, who cannot be identified because of his age, about his feelings during the theft and high-speed chase.

But the boy said he's since learned his lesson and will "stop hanging around withbad peopleandstopmaking bad choices.

"I feel pretty bad about myself [now]," he said.

His mother, who also cannot be identified, said her son doesn't understand the consequences of his actions because he has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

"They're judging him and they don't even know him. If it was up to them people, they'd probably say lock them up and throw away the key. These kids need help. And I think if they get the help, they can make the right choices next time," she said.

"Everybody makes mistakes and everybody deserves a second chance to turn their life around and to realize, 'Hey, I did wrong, but don't make me out to be a monster for it.' "

Police, courts not enough

Winnipeg police officers applauded announcements earlier this week that they would receive more officers and improved technology in the fight against auto theft.

Five officers will be added to the stolen-auto unit to check on high-risk repeat offenders, and a new camera and computer system for police cruisers will scan up to 200 licence plates a minute and determine if the vehicles have been reported stolen.

'I think what needs to be done is to convince them it's not worth it.' Deputy attorney general Doug Slough

Still, police said many of the same children are responsible for stealing cars, which frustrates the street-level officers who arrest them over and over.

"I spend a lot of time motivating my guys not to get negative," said Sgt. Doug Safioles, an officer with the city's stolen-auto unit.

"I expect them to do their job, which is to find and locate the offenders, and not get wrapped upin the other end of it. Our responsibility is to keep people safe."

Doug Slough, Manitoba's assistant deputy attorney general, said the justice system can only do so much.

"That's one of the frustrations, that often people look to thejustice system to solve this problem when there's a whole bunch of aspects to it that the justice system can't deal with," he said.

"We only have limited number of means to deal with it: just locking kids up, ultimately. It's not going to be a rap on the knuckles if they persist. They will be locked up; they will get jail sentences. I think what needs to be done is to convince them it's not worth it."

Police, prosecutors, the public, politicians and even parents agree the problem is too big for police or thecourts to handle alone. Poverty, racism, alcohol and teen boredom are also factors, they say, and those problems require solutions on a much larger scale.