SETS VAN ON FIRE - TOLD TO COME BACK SOON??

Arson, Erratic Behaviour … and Release?

A man allegedly acting erratically jumps a barrier at Nanaimo’s Hullo terminal, breaks into a utility van, makes a torch, and sets the vehicle on fire while passengers are nearby.

And then he is released.

Yes, released on conditions. Don’t go back to the terminal. Don’t possess incendiary devices. Court date later.

But the public is left asking the obvious question: if this kind of behaviour does not trigger some kind of serious risk or mental-health assessment, what does?

This is not about presuming guilt before trial. It is about recognizing obvious danger when it happens in plain sight. When someone allegedly sets a fire in a busy public transportation setting after behaving in a wildly erratic way, common sense says this is bigger than a routine catch-and-release file.

Instead, the system too often seems trapped between narrow legal tests, overloaded courts, and a chronic unwillingness to deal honestly with mental instability, addiction, or public threat until someone is hurt.

People waiting for a ferry should not have to wonder whether the person who allegedly lit up a van beside them will simply be back on the street with a paper full of conditions.

The justice system keeps telling the public to trust the process.

The public is starting to notice the process no longer inspires much trust.