Two armed robberies in Newcastle in two days. Is it time to get tough on crime yet?

Two armed robberies in the Newcastle downtown in two days is too darn much, thank you very much.
If you don't already know, the Miramichi police Patrol and Criminal Investigation Division officers have been investigating an armed robbery at Kingston’s 24-hour Petro-Canada service station at 713 King George Highway early Sunday morning and another at Discount Taxi on Henry Street Monday afternoon.
Thankfully, the Miramichi police have made an arrest in connection with the first armed robbery at Kingston's PetroCanada.
By law, the man's identity can't be made public until he appears before a judge, so I can't tell you his name. I can tell you this much, though. The man was on parole at the time he allegedly committed the armed robbery at Kingston's with the help of another unnamed culprit.
How do you like that? Out on parole. I used to read about things like that happening in L.A. or Detroit, but not around here.
Would you like to make a guess at how long ago this shining example of respectable citizenship was released from prison?
Two years? Nope.
A year? Un-uh.
Six months? No sir.
Would you believe this man had only been released on parole two weeks before he allegedly put a knife in someone's face at two o'clock in the morning and said gimme all yer money?
Two weeks.
If it kind of makes you feel sick to your stomach, trust me, you are not alone.
I guess something obviously didn't click while buddy was being "rehabilitated," which basically means he got tossed into a room full of other die-hard crooks for some skills upgrading.
Let's face it, for convicts nowadays going to prison is more like a professional development sabbatical than a punishment. It's a place where they catch up with old friends, learn the newest techniques in the robbing and killing arts and bulk up for their comeback performance on the streets of cities across the length and breadth of this country.
Sgt. Brian Cummings, of the Miramichi police Criminal Investigation Division, said Sunday morning’s armed robbery was the first to occur in the city in just over a year.
“It’s a rare event for it to happen,” Cummings said.
Looks like we've just had a 200 per cent increase in armed robberies in the city then, doesn't it?
By a man whose cot is still warm in the prison he was released from two episode of Canadian Idol ago.
The Criminal Code of Canada has been revised recently to impose a minimum sentence of four years in prison if a firearm is used during an armed robbery. I like the sound of that. But the culprit who committed the armed robbery in Newcastle Monday afternoon didn't use a gun. He used a knife. And a knife can kill you just as dead as any gun. Prime Minister Harper's been promising to get tough on crime for a long time. Well, now's your chance sir.
Start with armed robberies. Make that minimum sentence across the board, not just for firearms.
That's just for starters, but you've got to start somewhere.
It's about time the punishments start to fit the crimes.