BC Policing and Community Safety Plan - Ministry of Justice ...

CRIME REDUCTIONCONSULTATION FINDINGS: Three key community crime issues identified in the roundtables were prolificoffenders, public disorder, and property crime. Roundtable and focus group participants described crimereduction initiatives as having had a profound impact in driving down local crime and disorder problems.There was strong interest in expanding the use of crime reduction to ensure that efforts are coordinated andcrime is not displaced to other communities. Some of the barriers to undertaking collaborative crime reductionefforts were also identified, including issues related to information sharing, such as privacy and liabilityconcerns. Participants felt these issues should be addressed at a policy level so that information can be sharedsafely between the different agencies that are often interacting with the same individuals.CHALLENGE: Crime reduction initiatives focus resources to deal with specific crime problems in local communities,and are generally evidence-led and multi-agency in nature, requiring collaboration between lawenforcement, governments, and other partners. They often have targets and measures assigned to them andoccur over defined periods of time. In recent years, many police agencies and municipalities across BritishColumbia and Canada have implemented crime reduction initiatives. 30In the report, A Criminal Justice System for the 21st Century: Final Report to the Minister of Justice and AttorneyGeneral Honourable Shirley Bond (hereafter the Cowper Report) 31 , a recommendation is made that a province-widecrime reduction plan should be developed under the direction of the BCACP in collaboration withjustice officials.NEXT STEPS: The Ministry of Justice will support the implementation of an evidence-based, province-widecrime reduction initiative in consultation with the BCACP and with local governments. Work commenced in2013 with the appointment of a blue-ribbon panel on crime reduction, led by Dr. Darryl Plecas, ParliamentarySecretary on Crime Reduction. This initiative will continue to develop though 2015. Panel members will examineexisting crime-reduction initiatives and research from other Canadian provinces and other countries as wellas hold regional roundtable consultation sessions with stakeholders.CIVIL/ADMINISTRATIVE LAW STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE COMMUNITY SAFETYCONSULTATION FINDINGS: During the roundtables, participants described the positive impact that variousinitiatives designed to address problems through administrative processes or penalties have had in theircommunities. Examples included the implementation of Immediate Roadside Prohibitions, Civil ForfeitureLegislation, the use of electrical and fire safety inspection teams to disrupt the indoor production of marijuanaand other illicit drugs, and the development and enforcement of bylaws addressing other community issues.These alternatives to criminal sanctions were seen as having a much swifter and, in some cases more effective,impact on the problem issue or behavior. These initiatives were also seen to alleviate police workload, increasingpolice capacity to respond to other crime problems. Overall, participants supported an increased use ofalternatives to the criminal justice process.CHALLENGE: Increasing demands on police services combined with limited budgets, require governmentand stakeholders to look at strategies other than prosecution under the Criminal Code to enhance communitysafety and make people feel secure in their neighborhoods. The provincial government has successfully movedin this direction by introducing several pieces of legislation which allow the provincial government and law30 For example, the cities of Surrey and Abbotsford have implemented comprehensive crime reductionand community safety strategies. At the provincial level, the Ministry of Justice piloted a prolificoffender management program in six communities throughout British Columbia.31 Cowper, 2012, 22.34BRITISH COLUMBIA POLICING AND COMMUNITY SAFETY PLAN