WHEREAS many communities no longer have an assigned provincial judge and therefore have inadequate means to promptly resolve criminal issues; AND WHEREAS the shortage of judges results in members of the public being poorly served and delays in due process; AND WHEREAS many communities use community justice mechanisms to deal with first time offenders, reducing court time and helping to seek resolutions to matters in a more expeditious manner: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the provincial government be strongly urged to adequately fund the services the community justice programs provide to communities and the now very overloaded court systems.
Ministry of Public Safety Solicitor General All provincial justice agencies are working collaboratively to develop initiatives to make the criminal justice system more efficient and effective. We are committed to looking at new ways of dealing with issues to avoid the necessity of multiple court appearances, subject to other competing government priorities in view of the current fiscal environment. We are engaged with the federal government and other Canadian jurisdictions at the FederalProvincialTerritorial table to identify and implement reforms that will improve justice system efficiencies, including addressing delays in the courts. At the same time, we are piloting several initiatives that are testing new models for improved justice efficiency and effectiveness, including the Downtown Community Court in Vancouver and the Prolific Offender Management project in six BC communities. We are committed to initiatives that reduce reoffending and enhance public safety. The province administers formal alternative measures services to accused adult offenders that allow the individual to accept responsibility for their criminal conduct and make reparations to the community andor victims without increasing risk to the community. The Province provides funding to locally based Aboriginal Justice Strategy programs that offer community services ranging from court diversion to the re-integration of offenders returning from custody centres. Aboriginal Justice Strategy programs operate in 32 communities throughout B.C. The Province also recognizes the value of community-based restorative justice programs for communities, offenders, and particularly for victims. We provide funding to these programs through the Community Accountability Program CAP. Over 50 community-based restorative justice programs across BC are supported through CAP.