RCMP union calls for public safety reform with B.C. election looming

Ahead of the B.C. election, the national union for RCMP officers is renewing calls to focus on public safety.

The National Police Federation wants all parties to develop a “robust public safety plan” and called out the so-called catch-and-release system.

A Pollara poll conducted in August asked 2,000 British Columbians about crime and public safety and more than 80 per cent of respondents said they were concerned about repeat offenders.

Chris Voller, director at the National Police Federation, said this is a renewed call for smart bail reform.

“We know and see that this current system is not serving Canadians and we want to have that changed,” Voller told Global News.

With a provincial and federal election on the horizon, Voller said they introduced seven recommendations last year for smart bail reform following 10 police officer deaths.

“If you look at our system right now and for any of the viewers who look out, think of your family, can they walk on the streets in all parts of their community?” he said.

“Is there an evening or a morning? Are they safe? And if the answer is no, then they also need to advocate for change because we deserve to be safe in our communities.”

2:02 Premiers cite Tori Dunn homicide in call for bail system reform

Voller said police officers are frustrated.

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“It’s like being a carpenter,” he said. “You go to work every day looking to try and build a safer community. But we need the provincial, federal and municipal governments to get together and give us the tools to be able to build that.”

The federation is asking for the next B.C. government to commit to enacting its seven-point bail reform plan.

“My challenge to any incoming government would be that you do make meaningful change,” Voller said.

“That this isn’t just about politics. Prove me wrong that the timing of all these topics being at the forefront are not for your party’s benefit but rather to ensure my friends aren’t dying and Canadians are safe in our communities.”

Matthew Nathanson, a criminal lawyer, told Global News the conversation shouldn’t be about bail reform, it should be about mental health.

“There definitely is a systemic problem here, but it’s not a problem with the bail system,” he said. “It’s a problem with the mental health system and with the chronic underfunding of that system. Bail, by its very nature, is after the fact, after an incident or a crime has occurred, after there’s been an arrest.

“What we should really be talking about is preventing these incidents from occurring in the first place.”

Nathanson said it is a failure of the chronic government underfunding of the mental health system.

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Voller disagreed that bail reform shouldn’t be front and centre.

“I wholeheartedly agree that mental health, whether it be with a diagnosis or undiagnosed or substance misuse disorder, are intrinsically linked to our criminal justice system,” he said.

“We see so many clients that suffer from those disease as well as are pushed into criminality. I agree with them that we need to support those individuals wholeheartedly and an aversion to the criminal justice system, if they get meaningful support, is something that is real.

“However, we also see those people who have the support continue with violent behaviour and we can’t be negligent in our bail reform to protect Canadians with that as well. We need both. They’re not wrong in saying we should focus on that. I agree. But we need to focus on both.”