Photo courtesy BC Government / Flickr

By Caden Fanshaw

Prolific Offenders

28 recommendations come out of B.C. report on prolific offenders

Sep 21, 2022 | 5:46 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – After months of anticipation a report on how to better handle BC’s prolific offenders has officially been completed and released to the public.

The report was originally asked for by the BC Urban Mayors Caucus back in April when 13 Mayors from across the province demanded action be taken on a troubling trend in public safety within communities.

The 28 recommendations were released as part of the independent report completed by two experts in mental health and policing, Amanda Butler and Doug LePard.

The investigation makes recommendations in several areas, such as:

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• improving the system of care for people in the criminal justice system with mental health and substance-use challenges;
• creating more opportunities to divert people from the criminal justice system;
• improving services for Indigenous Peoples;
• improving collaboration between partners, including community services, law enforcement, and all levels of government; and
• addressing repeat offending and improving public confidence in the justice system.

The experts highlight that these issues are linked to changes in federal legislation and case law, and the need to continue rebuilding social and healthcare support to address the underlying, root causes that can lead to a cycle of offending. All of the recent challenges are believed to have been impacted by the pandemic.

Mike Farnworth, BC Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General said the province is already working on many of the recommendations and will resurrect a past program to help the response including actions in Prince George.

A prolific offender management program is being brought back that was previously stopped in 2012. The program operated as pilot programs in B.C. communities from 2008-2012.

The Province is working through the recommendations with its partners to identify how government can move quickly to implement changes to improve public safety. Partners in this work include the First Nations Justice Council (BCFNJC), BC Urban Mayors’ Caucus, municipal representatives, the BC Prosecution Service, police, and partners in housing, addictions, mental health and health-care services.