'Our members are held accountable for the decisions they make and the actions they take. Why isn’t anyone else?'

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After months of Canadian police agencies saying they’ve been overwhelmed by the consequences of “catch and release” justice, some have now taken to calling out the actions of specific judges and prosecutors they deem responsible.

On Monday, the Toronto Police Association directly blamed judges for a case in which a 12-year-old on a release order was alleged to have participated in the beating death of a Toronto homeless man.

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“Where are the judges who make these decisions?” wrote the association in a Monday statement that said police had also shared their concerns with the federal government. “Our members are held accountable for the decisions they make and the actions they take. Why isn’t anyone else?”

This city’s youth violence is out of control. A 12-year-old charged with murder while on release shows the system is failing. Where’s the accountability for judges and community supports? pic.twitter.com/kUUnvZdF9q

This followed only a few days after the Edmonton Police took the unprecedented step of slamming Crown prosecutors for failing to pursue murder charges against a woman accused of killing an eight-year-old Indigenous girl.

Much of the case’s details are shielded by a publication ban, but the victim went missing in 2023 from an Alberta home and her body was later found abandoned in a hockey bag in the back of a pickup truck.

Nevertheless, Crown prosecutors agreed to a deal in which the girl’s accused killer would plead guilty to manslaughter and avoid prosecution for murder.

In response, Edmonton Police called on provincial officials to annul the deal, threatening to publicly release key details of the case if the plea went ahead.

“What we expect from the Crown — what you and the public should expect — is that the Crown is a zealous advocate........

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