James Douglas Campbell, a 58-year-old federal prisoner, has been in jail for most of the last 50 years. He has over 60 proven convictions and at least another 30 of which he has been suspected.
With blatant disregard for public safety, the Canadian criminal justice system has given him many releases and paroles and at least six times he has been caught and returned to one jail or another. His numerous police investigations, legal counsel, court expenses and jail housing for between 40 to 50 years have probably cost the taxpayer somewhere between $3 to $5 million in 2008 reckoning. How strange that the so-called justice system allowed him repeated parole and release to hurt so many innocent people. Who knows how many of his innocent victims lives he has ruined?
His history shows that he has repeatedly selected for victimization certain vulnerable communities. These include young girls, women, "gullible" church-goers and the gay community. Taking a Corrections Canada Palliative Care course may have inspired another possibility - exploiting the elderly, specifically, an elderly lady he met at a church. Throughout his current sentence, Corrections Canada granting of numerous passes has enabled him to make contact with people from most of his favourite vulnerable communities for victimization upon release or while on parole. Campbell's current 24 year conviction will see him released again sometime between 2010 and 2014.
As recently as 2004 this prisoner was re-returned to Ferndale Institution, a 166-bed minimum-security federal institution, located at 33737 Dewdney Trunk Rd, Mission, B.C. No fences allow inmates to escape merely by walking away. For website links to information on murderers and violent offenders who have walked away from Ferndale in recent years and never been re-apprehended, please see the end of this article.
Prior to 1990, Campbell had been convicted of the following offences: "theft (9 cases), break & entry (8 cases), auto theft (two cases), possession of stolen property (3 cases), dangerous use of a firearm (two cases), fraud (20 cases) robbery (1 case), and for unlawfully being at large." In 1990 he was convicted for:"sexual assault [involving children] (5 cases), forcible confinement, possession of a weapon, uttering threats, two cases of theft over $1,000, break and entry with theft (3 cases)."
In the early 1970s, the 1999 psychologist review reports Campbell "set out to gain support for parole. He apparently behaved as a model inmate. He presented as open, honest, and motivated to change his life. He attended numerous religious activities and claimed religion would always play a major role in his life." He appears to have become "engaged to a religious woman....[and then] received day parole." He resumed criminal activities and within eight months, "was rearrested for possession of a stolen handgun." Later he "admitted his pre-parole behaviour was a hoax. He also stated he purposely targetted religious people because they were gullible." Further, he credited his prison's "Toastmaster's training for teaching him the verbal skills to better coax tellers into cashing his fraudulent cheques," and he robbed his employer's home, and was convicted. After his release, he was was re-incarcerated for further property crime/armed robbery. He worked in and out of jail as a male prostitute who stole from his male "clients".
"In 1981 he was released to a Mackenzie [BC] halfway house, from where he committed further property crimes. He apparently became involved in a menage a trois with his released prison lover and his wife. Later, he stole his lover's truck, camper and rifle."
In 1983, at his brother's home in Manitoba, he "sexually assaulted his brother's 4 or 5 year old daughter." For other crimes in 1983 he was briefly re-incarcerated but only until December 1983. "Again he returned to property crimes, including False Pretences, Theft under [$1000] and Forgery. When caught and convicted [he] received short provincial sentences. The point of the above" the report continues, "is to demonstrate [his] ability to lie, cheat and turn against non-criminal friends and supporters...By 1998/9 ...he established a common law relationship with" another woman, the mother of "4 children, including 2 pre-adolescent daughters....he later assaulted 1 of them...."
After abandoning the lady and her children, he "fled to Edmonton where he was convicted of Theft...and sentenced to 45 days." Woopy-do! The lady returned to Campbell, bringing "one son and both daughters," one of whom he then sexually assaulted. During the mother's absence, he abandoned her children, and sexually assaulted a ten year old girl, friend to one of his stepdaughters. He "stole a truck and fled to Manitoba...where he sexually re-assaulted his now 12/13 year old niece." He fled to Winnipeg, where he broke into the home of neighbours of people who had offered to help him with "food, lodging and support." Although the review does not state where he met that kindly couple, it may possibly been at a church.
In September 1990 he "B&Ed a private residence and stole money, car keys and the car". Then he "abducted a 7 year old girl and took her to an unoccupied private residence" that he had recently "B&Ed....then sexually assaulted the victim", redressed her and "drove her to school."
"After committing a number of other thefts including a shotgun which he sawed off [he] stayed in the bush supposedly contemplating suicide. He then returned to the city and was rearrested. In summary [he] had sexually assaulted his stepdaughter, his niece, a child he befriended and a child who was a total stranger over a 7 year period, 1983-1990, his ages 33-40 years. Consequently he was both an opportunist and a predator. In addition [he] has committed a number of property crimes not infrequently victimizing those who have helped and supported him."
Although the 1999 review claimed that Ferndale inmate Campbell "remainded drug free" and had "learned to identify and monitor...risk factors." The report further stated that
"he remains a high risk to re-offend and is .... unmanagable in the community...He has used programs such as AA and religious activities to seduce lovers and supporters only to use and abuse some of them upon release... As such I would recommend a review of his present AA and church related activities."
Despite Campbell's history and the 1999 psychiatrist's warning, within less than two years, the justice system permitted this "minimum security institution" inmate to work doing painting at a church (St. Matthew's Anglican Church, Abbotsford, BC). It must have forgotten its psychologist's 1999 warning. By 2001 the system had granted Campbell escorted passes to attend church - St. Matthews Church, Abbotsford.
Thus the system enabled Campbell to "befriend" at St. Matthews Church Doreen Darley, an Abbotsford lady millionaire - an 80 year old psychiatrist who still had not fully retired. He appealed to her sympathy by claiming he was the victim of institutionalized child rape. Campbell had a clever strategy to insinuate himself into Darley's home. First he convinced Darley to remove an Ethiopian refugee living in her home who was being supported by her church and then to take in Pierre Clement, his friend and dope-smoking partner. Clement was on parole for murder. With the support of this psychiatrist, Campbell then persuaded the system to grant him an extended temporary absence to live at Darley's "alarmed" home. Retired psychiatrists have powerful credibility which he used to his advantage. When this elderly psychiatrist learned that he was fraudulently using her bank accounts and credit cards, and breaking his curfew she failed to report that to his parole officers, the police or her own family. Neither the Abbotsford Parole Office nor the police monitored Campbell's nightly curfew order. Shortly thereafter the psychiatrist's son returned from the UK where he was doing a PhD, to arrange the repair of one computer that had become unusable, keeping all his backed up data in a PDA in his bedroom. The son's car keys disappeared. The inmate and his friend (former inmate) who shared marijuana, both claimed that the inmate was reliable and could not have taken the son's car keys. The psychiatrist chose not to report the keys' disappearance either to the police or the parole officer. However, several days later, the inmate stole both the psychiatrist's car and her son's coat that containing all his irreplacable backuped PhD data on his pocket size handheld minicomputer (PDA).
The psychiatrist, by providing the man her car keys enabled Campbell and his ex-inmate drug-addict friend to commit further criminal acts - home invasions, robberies, etc. in the Okanogan.
Three weeks later, the RCMP arrested Campbell. He was tried and convicted for further criminal offences. He stayed for a while in Mountain Prison (in Agassiz, BC). He requested and was then permitted to return for at least the second time to minimum-security Ferndale Institution.
There was a reason for this move. Ferndale's location better enabled him to move closer to the elderly psychiatrist's home. All the inmate's jails enabled him to both re-establish communication with the elderly lady psychiatrist (by making daily collect calls to her) and thereby develop a romantic "relationship" with her, despite their 30-year difference in age. He was once again granted passes to attend St. Matthew's Anglican Church in Abbotsford, BC. His contact with the elderly lady psychiatrist enabled him to persuade her to send Western Union and bank transfers to purportedly pay for course materials that he told her his courses at Ferndale required and to have his personal effects returned. However, the Ferndale courses required no course materials. Following an inquiry into drugs entering Ferndale Institution, the inmate was temporarily returned to medium security Mountain Prison in Agassiz. There he claimed he was contemplating suicide and had a nervous breakdown and was transferred to Corrections Canada's Regional Health Center in Abbotsford.
Several months later, the system re-returned Campbell to Ferndale Institution for at least the third time! Meanwhile the elderly psychiatrist's son's lawyer contacted the inmate regarding damages resulting from the loss of 3 years of PhD research (the stolen minicomputer). Simultaneously, Ferndale's Anglican chaplain provided the inmate a contact church address for the elderly lady psychiatrist. Soon the inmate was once again daily telephoning the elderly psychiatrist collect from inside Ferndale jail, urging her to evict her son.
Her son was living with her, because he was suffering from a mental breakdown caused by the theft/loss of all three years of his PhD research work. The research and study had cost over $100,000.
Once again, the system granted inmate escorted Campbell passes to St. Matthew's Anglican Church in Abbotsford. In December 2007 a Corrections Canada escort even took the inmate to the home where my friend lives, to see my friend's mother for a day. In late 2008, this now 88 year old retired lady psychiatrist/millionairess and her Ferndale inmate "boyfriend" began marriage preparation in Ferndale Institution with her priest. The prisoner claims that a Vancouver AIDS-related organisation "has a place for him" to either work or volunteer, and he is trying to persuade my friend's mother to buy a "small, inexpensive" house in the West End of Vancouver. Corrections Canada has enabled him to do volunteer work at "The Centre" by providing him an escort who transports him there. Keep in mind that gay people have been another one of his favorite vulnerable communities for victimization!
According to its website, the LGTB Community Centre (Pacific Foundation for the Advancement of Minority Equality):
Serves and supports lesbian, gay, transgendered, and bisexual (LGTB) people and their allies. Contributes to the health and well-being of LGTB communities through information and referral, education, coming-out groups, social support, recovery meetings, counselling, intergenerational awareness program, and community development (specific programs are listed below). Has a resource library and offers meeting space for other support groups
Sentencing patterns and the decisions of both the National Parole Board, provincial and federal correctional systems have clearly enabled this offender to prey on the public repeatedly for over fifty years. These public officials were repeatedly so gullible as to let the inmate con them over and over again. His deceptions persuaded even Corrections Canada to disregard its own psychologist's assessment of the inmate's pattern of using
"programs such as AA and religious activities to seduce lovers and supporters only to use and abuse some of them upon release."
Obviously in this and probably many other cases, the justice system (the courts, Corrections Canada, the National Parole Board, and community parole officers) have lacked proper judgment and thereby enabled Campbell repeatedly to victimize the defenceless.
How many other unwise decisions have enabled other proven longterm offenders to revictimize countless innocent people? Victims affected by such failed decision-making deserve to be assured that reforms be made to eliminate this recurrant "justice system" problem.
NECESSARY FEDERAL JUSTICE REFORMS & THE RECOGNITION OF INTENTIONAL “RE-VICTIMIZATION” AS A CRIME
1. Any person convicted of a criminal offense who thereafter attempts or commits any act which attempts to falsely discredit the reputation of or affect the life or wellbeing of a person whom he/she has already victimized as part of a criminal act, should be guilty of a Criminal Code offence termed “Re-victimization.” The conviction should carry a term of imprisonment of up to ten years, and no less than 7 years, served consecutively to any other imposed sentence.
2. National Parole Board and Corrections Canada policy, and the legislation governing those two bodies, should require that inmate guilty of victimization or revictimization should be relocated to a prison far from wherever any of his victims and their immediate family members reside. Victims and the public should have input into the decision where inmates should be incarcerated, due to the fact that said victims can use their choice institutional location enable them to prey on members of their victim's family and thereby re-victimize their victims. A 24/7 federal/provincial entity must be available to respond and enforce this.
3. If an inmate has a history of preying on vulnerable populations when released on either temporary absences ("passes") or parole, these populations require new forms of protection. Both children and the elderly require improved protection. Elderly people experiencing Presenile Dementia, who, while they are not yet certifiably demented, may suffer memory and judgment loss which leaves them vulnerable to such exploitation. When contact with inmates has victimized the elderly, either the Correctional System or the National Parole Board should be required to advise the appropriate provincial agencies (i.e. BC Ministry of Family and Children’s Services) of the occurrence and to request that, for the safety and wellbeing of the elderly, the appropriate provincial authority psychiatrically assess any elderly victim whenever a concerned member of the public can establish further clear potential for risk. This preventative measure is intended to prevent from future abuse or manipulation, whenever the danger be emotional, financial or legal in nature.
4. Victims should be permitted to request the cessation of an offender's contact to individuals to whom victims are directly connected, when such contact contributes to the offender's re-victimization of a victim. Forms of contact could be: written (mail), telephone, or visiting privileges. When the inmate's sentence expires, such prohibitions should remain a condition of his/her release/parole.
5. The victimizer/inmate should be denied passes/absences or access to places which he/she habitually has used to “groom” victims. (In these of Campbell this should apply to both churches and gay venues). When the inmate's sentence expires, such prohibitions should remain a condition of their release/parole.
6. Victims and the public must be able to exercise input into the decision process of the granting of certain inmate absences from prisons, where it could potentially affect themselves, their relatives, friends or (business) associates.
7. That when inmates are repeatedly granted access to public institutions such as schools, hospitals, and churches, a warning poster with the offender's photograph and an explanatory notice about the inmate/offender's criminal history shall be clearly placed at all points of access into and out of said premises.
8. Copies of all a criminal's Corrections and National Parole Board documents, assessments, reviews, etc. should be provided to his/her victim and to whomever the victim requests. At present, these bodies at the inmate's request will provide criminal, and to the criminal's family, lawyer, etc., copies of NPB hearing documents.
9. When an inmate is considered for release to a halfway house, which is a private home, prior to the release the supervising parole authority must conduct a secret ballot of all adult residents of the private home and receive the unanimous consent of all its residents prior to approving the site as an acceptable halfway house for the potential parolee.
10. Municipal councils must be legally empowered to review and challenge the practices and decision-making of local Corrections and Parole Officers in their communities, and to make recommendations regarding the dismissals of those whose decision making has repeatedly caused re-victimization.
Information on recent (murderers/violent offenders) who have walked away from Ferndale:
BLANE MCDOUGAL - 2008 - APRIL
http://bc.rcmp.ca/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=50&contentId=4217
http://bc.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ViewPage.action?languageId=4&siteNodeId=50&contentId=4229
http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/media/rgnlrls/pac/08/04-19-eng.shtml
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2008/04/25/colby-cosh-on-blane-macdougal-dangerous-offenders-don-t-belong-in-minimum-security-prisons.aspx ( National Post )
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/blane-macdougal-escaped-serial-rapist-killer-escapes-0
http://www.2010vancouver.ca/be-on-the-lookout-for-blane-macdougal-019246.php
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/story.html?id=ca97f878-e97d-4f24-ac45-77e65ffd38ae&k=4535
http://www.anticorruption.ca/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6200&sid=7b8d49aa76ff1d9ea59222a3b6707140
CHI WAI CHAN - 2008 - DECEMBER
http://www.bclocalnews.com/fraser_valley/abbynews/news/36441324.html ( Abbotsford News )
REGARDING CANADIAN MINIMUM SECURITY PRISONS:
http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/946010/posts
http://www.niagarathisweek.com/printarticle/215117
http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/inv-enq/dec/2001/dnoonward-eng.htm
DRUGS IN MINIMUM SECURITY PRISONS IN CANADA: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Prison+guards+foil+drug+delivery/1506059/story.html
( Calgary Herald )
