The B.C. government is boasting a 50 per cent decline in police interactions with individuals deemed repeat violent offenders.
Officials credited that decrease to the province’s Repeat Violent Offending Intervention Initiative, which launched in May 2023 with a stated goal of helping individuals “break the cycle” of criminality.
The sharp decrease in police interactions was recorded in the 18 months after offenders were designated under the program, according to the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.
In a statement, Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger said the effort is “making a real difference in our communities.”
“The impact is far-reaching for people’s safety in their neighbourhoods and downtown cores, with violent offenders being better monitored and kept off our streets for longer,” Krieger said.
Officials said dedicated Crown counsel also approved charges faster in “appropriate cases” involving designated repeat violent offenders, and were more likely to oppose bail.
Those suspects subsequently spent more time in custody, according to the ministry.
The program also employs “community integration specialists” who try to connect chronic offenders with services, including help with substance abuse or mental health issues—with each designated repeat violent offender receiving “enhanced case management,” as well as closer monitoring and surveillance, according to the province.
“Those who willingly engage with (the program) stay charge-free longer, reducing risk to communities,” the Ministry of Public Safety said in a news release Wednesday.
“Those who resist involvement and continue to reoffend are being met with swift enforcement and are experiencing longer periods of incarceration.”
So far, more than 500 repeat violent offenders have been offered supports through the program, which operates hubs in a dozen communities across the province, including three in the Lower Mainland and two on Vancouver Island.
Officials said they are launching an adjacent program in Kelowna, Nanaimo and Nelson that will specifically target property crimes such as shoplifting and vandalism.
Krieger said the province hopes the Chronic Property and Public Disorder Intervention Initiative will ultimately “save businesses the expense” of bearing the costs of those offences.
