.jpg;w=938)
It is not often that crime and public safety surfaces as a top of mind issue with the public, but that is what seems to have happened in recent weeks.
And that is potentially bad news for the BC NDP government, which has shown a curious inconsistency when it comes to tackling street crime. In fact, it is conflicted with opposite views from within government on just how bad the problem has become.
The first few question periods of the fall legislature session had the NDP back on its heels as the Opposition BC Liberals sensed a vulnerability on the ruling side. We have not seen that dynamic very often since the NDP took power in 2017.
Taking a tough stance on crime is a better fit for the BC Liberals, who have coined their own pet phrase (“catch and release”) to describe the seemingly revolving door of chronic offenders who commit violent crimes and then are released back into their community in relatively short time.
The NDP has bristled at this approach ― Premier John Horgan has accused the BC Liberals of coming up with “bumper sticker slogans” and nothing else to solve the problem ― but it seems to be effective, even if it can be misleading.
This is all playing out against a backdrop of random, violent assaults on strangers in a number of urban and suburban areas. Night after night, television newscasts are filled with videos of these assaults or statements from what frequently seem somewhat bewildered and concerned police officers.
All of which brings us to the seemingly contradictory views of the problem held within government.
On the one hand, assistant deputy attorney general Peter Juk (he is responsible for the prosecution service) recently released a seven-page letter suggesting problems in the justice system were nowhere near as bad as recent accounts and criticisms would suggest.
Overall crime rates are down, Juk argued, and relying on simplistic slogans like “catch and release” do more harm than good because that approach “tends to undermine” basic legal principles when it comes to arrests and bail procedures.
That is all well and good. But then the government commissioned its own report from a former police chief and university professor and it came to almost the opposite assessment.
The authors, Doug LePard and Amanda Butler, concluded there is a serious lack of resources in the prosecutorial side of the system and there is not enough consultation with police when it comes to dealing with repeated offenders and people with complex issues.
While overall crime rates may be lower, the authors found that “violent” crime rates are up sharply, particularly in Vancouver and Victoria, where random stranger assaults are up a whopping 35 per cent from a few years ago.
I get the sense the government is leaning towards LePard and Butler’s take on things. But the proof of that will be revealed in next spring’s budget.
If there is not much of a boost in resources for prosecution services, it may indicate the “no story here” view of things has prevailed.
But given the whole issue has given the government pause, I’ll bet on some changes coming. Not only when it comes to more resources, but potentially to include prosecutors receiving a rare “specific directive” from the attorney-general to do things differently.
Goodness knows the status quo is not working.
Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global BC.
