Prince George, BC – With the provincial crime rate at its lowest level in 40-years, Premier Christy Clark says we should be celebrating…

However, Clark says we can’t ‘rest on our laurels’.  In what she calls a bid to stay ahead and find innovative crime reduction strategies, Clark has announced a blue-ribbon panel comprised of criminologists, former RCMP leaders, and chaired by the Parliamentary Secretary for Crime Reduction, Surrey MLA Darryl Plecas

"Collaboration turns our crime-fighting investments and innovations into successes – like our civil forfeiture program, our provincewide police information-sharing system, and traffic fine revenue sharing with local governments," says Attorney-General, Suzanne Anton.  "This panel is about informing how we might adjust priorities and resource commitments to further reduce crime and increase public safety."

In her address to delegates at the UBCM convention yesterday, Premier Clark credited Williams Lake Mayor Kerry Cook and Council with doing a ‘remarkable job’ in tackling a crime problem in the community.  "And I hope all of you will take the opportunity to help them understand, at the grassroots level, what you’ve done to make such a difference in British Columbia."  The panel will seek input from police, local government, corrections, criminal justice, health and social services, and other relevant fields early next year.

Panel members will begin meeting next month to examine initiatives and research from other provinces and other countries.  A summary of the panel’s findings is due to the Attorney-General at the end of June.