The B.C. government has formally launched its Repeat Violent Offending Intervention Initiative in an effort to crack down on repeat, violent offenders — a chronic public safety and policing challenge that has increasingly dominated headlines.
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth, Premier David Eby, and Attorney General Niki Sharma released details of the 12-hub program in Nanaimo on Wednesday. The initiative was first announced last month and the hubs will be operational in May.
The hubs will work with local stakeholders and existing programs, including treatment teams, through collaborative information-sharing.
“This uptick in repeat violent offending that we’re seeing is unnerving for many and it’s completely unacceptable,” Eby said.
“We’re strengthening enforcement, making sure there are serious consequences for those who break the law, to target the small but serious number of people causing the most chaos, while also making sure there are services available to those who need them and are ready to access them.”
- B.C. Sikh leader ‘vindicated’ by arrest of Indian nationals in Nijjar killing
- London Drugs remains closed, says it is reviewing billions of lines of data
- How toy guns brandished by Ontario youth in ‘assassins game’ is prompting real fear
- Trump trial hears recording discussing hush money scheme: ‘What do we got to pay?’
Each regional hub will house a dedicated team of police, prosecutors and probation officers who will pool their expertise, co-ordinate responses and attempt to achieve better outcomes when repeat, violent offenders present themselves. They will monitor cases involving prolific offenders from through the investigation, court process and community supervision phase in an attempt to break cycles of recidivism.
The Repeat Violent Offending Intervention Initiative comes with an initial three-year investment of $25 million, which will support a program roster of 42 BC Prosecution Service staff and Crown counsellors, four BC Corrections officers, nine correctional supervisors and 21 probation officers.
Consultation with Indigenous nations to ensure case management is culturally appropriate has been underway for more than a month.
One regional hub will be in Nanaimo, but the premier mentioned hub coverage will span “from Surrey to Cranbrook, Kamloops to Prince George, and up to Terrace.”
Nanaimo MLA and Social Development and Poverty Reduction Minister Sheila Malcolmson welcomed the launch.
“I’m disturbed by the upswell in recent violent offending that we’ve been witnessing. I’ve listened to families that feel street disorder is making their neighbourhoods unsafe. I’ve met with businesses whose livelihood is threatened by break-ins and theft,” she said.
“The frustration that we’re seeing and feeling in Nanaimo is echoed across the province and across Canada.”
According to the Nanaimo Area Public Safety Association, the Vancouver Island city has dealt with “a sharp escalation” in health and safety concerns, particularly in the area of Victoria Road. In a March 15 letter to Krog and his council, the association’s interim chair cited a spike in overdoses, accumulation of drug use paraphernalia on the streets, and increased “threatening and intimidating behaviours” towards residents along the road.
Wednesday’s announcement was attended by more than a dozen protesters, who shouted into megaphones throughout the politicians’ remarks.
Through the shouting, Farnworth said an additional $75,000 will be invested in existing programs tailored to Nanaimo’s specific safety needs.
“The Downtown Nanaimo Community Safety Action Plan and the situation table aligns with the Repeat Violent Offending Initiative,” he said. “We’re also recognizing more needs to be done in terms of assisting police.”
The province revealed Wednesday the impending start of a new Special Investigation and Targeted Enforcement Program — SITE — which will expand police investigative resources and targeted enforcement capacity, as well as allow quicker information-sharing and co-ordination between forces.
An initial $16 million in funding over three years will kickstart the program, designed to support the Repeat Violent Offending Intervention Initiative.
“The Nanaimo RCMP detachment will have access to this funding in the years ahead to customize additional resources that will have the greatest impact in this community,” said Farnworth.
The province is hiring an additional 250 RCMP officers as well.
The province recently lobbied the federal government for a change in Canada’s Criminal Code that would address repeated offenders as “unintended consequences of Bill-C75.”
C-75 is an act that amended the Criminal Code to modernize and clarify bail provisions. It included a reverse onus provision that for certain crimes, placed the onus on an accused person to demonstrate why they should be let out on bail as opposed to the default — a Charter-protected right “not to be denied reasonable bail without just cause.”
Farnworth has said he wants the reverse onus expanded to cover not only offences where firearms are involved, but knives, bear spray and other weapons too, as well as offences in which the suspect has a history of use of weapons for violence.
— with files from Amy Judd
Comments