Non-Returnable Warrants

WHEREAS the courts and the Crown, when issuing or requesting a warrant for the arrest of an offender, often impose a geographical limitation on the warrant where the practical effect of this geographical limitation encourages the offender to flee the jurisdiction in which the warrant is valid; AND WHEREAS these types of outstanding warrants, which are generally referred to by the police community as non-returnable warrants, are left un-enforced by police officers who contact these offenders in jurisdictions beyond the radius of the warrant; AND WHEREAS a 2005 study conducted by the Vancouver Police Department found that 84 of these offenders had more than one prior criminal conviction, while at least 55 of these offenders had 11 or more prior criminal convictions, and that permitting violent andor chronic offenders to avoid prosecution through inter-provincial flight endangers the safety of Canadians and brings the administration of justice into disrepute: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities call upon the appropriate provincial ministers, the Minister of Justice, and the Minister of Public Safety to: - take affirmative action to prevent the threat to public safety and the erosion of public confidence in the criminal justice system caused by the proliferation of non-returnable warrants; and - assist in developing and funding an operationally practical and cost effective, national transportation system that will ensure that those individuals who are arrested on inter-provincial warrants are brought before the justice system.