B.C. commits $25M for public safety teams to combat repeat violent offenders

The B.C. government is introducing a new $25 million initiative to address community safety concerns across the province.

In an announcement Tuesday, B.C.’s Solicitor General said the Repeat Violent Offending Intervention Initiative will be comprised of prosecutors, probation officers, and police, who will focus on “improving public safety by co-ordinating responses across the justice system and supporting better outcomes for offenders.”

“We are pulling out all the stops to make sure British Columbians feel safe,” said Mike Farnworth. “Our government made a commitment to tackle the complex issue of repeat violent offending, and we’re backing that promise with concrete action. With the Repeat Violent Offending Intervention Initiative, government agencies will have the resources they need to pool their expertise and work collaboratively to protect communities and help people break the cycle of offending.”‘

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The province says the investment of $25 million over three years will go towards supporting 21 Crown counsel, along with another 21 BC Prosecution Service staff; four full-time BC Corrections staff to develop and evaluate the program; nine correctional supervisors, along with another 21 probation officers in correctional centres and the community.

Farnworth says the approach will be similar to that of a plan which B.C. piloted between 2008 and 2012, which he says shows substantial improvement in some areas before it was ended.

“[There’s] a much greater integration of communication between police, between probation officers, … between support services that are needed — all of those coming together to deal with these kinds of cases and individuals that we’re concerned about,” he said.

It’s also part of a slate of 28 recommendations included in last year’s provincial report on repeat offenders.

“Stakeholders expressed general support for resurrecting this model but emphasized that senior government support is required to facilitate effective information sharing between participants. It is not sustainable, desirable, or effective for police to continue to bear the primary responsibility to manage people who offend repeatedly,” the report said in September 2022.

The province says it hopes the initiative will begin in April, as hiring is already underway.

“Repeat violent offending is a concern right across the country,” said B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma. “That’s why just last week we secured a federal commitment to make legislative changes to the Criminal Code that would add stronger provisions on repeat violent offenders and some firearm offences. At the same time, we’re making changes here in B.C. to strengthen enforcement and improve services to make our communities safer and healthier for everyone.”

The province says the teams will also provide release planning for offenders, which will connect them with community programs, like mental-health services, to “help break the cycle of reoffending.”

The funding comes as part of the government’s Safer Communities Action Plan, which also included the previously announced $230 million for provincial and RCMP policing units across the province, along with the expansion of mental-health crisis response teams.

–With files from Liza Yuzda