Editor:
In regards to the “Stanley Cup Riot 2011,” I wonder whether those who stood by and photographed, videotaped and cheered on the extras for that Lord of the Flies remake, and did nothing to stop or notify authorities, would be considered accessories to a criminal act?
An accessory has knowledge that a crime is being, or will be, committed and with that knowledge may become an accessory by helping or encouraging the criminal in some way, or simply by failing to report the crime to proper authorities.
The Canadian Criminal Code provides that “everyone is a party to an offense and receive the same charge who does or omits to do anything for the purpose of aiding any person to commit it.”
Those who are sending in videos and photos to the VPD may be incriminating themselves. Someone photographing a criminal act who fails to notify authorities at the time of the crime may be guilty of the same crime. The same people eager to “rat” out their fellow accessories may have committed a crime as defined by the Canadian Criminal Code.
Phil Le Good, White Rock