Province Launches Attack on Gangs

By 250 News

Prince George, B.C.- “No more gangs, no more gunshots, no more innocent victims.” With those words, Provincial Solicitor General Jon Van Dongen opened up the news conference which outlined the new stepped up program to battle gangs in B.C.  For Prince George, it means it will be home for one of two 16 member satellite gang units. Kelowna will host the other.

 Premier Gordon Campbell has announced the Province will dedicate an additional 168 police officers and 10 prosecutors as part of a comprehensive initiative to strengthen B.C.'s fight against gang and gun violence.

"Recent gang violence has been both shocking and appalling, and British Columbians have had enough," said Premier Campbell. "We're adding more police officers to investigate, arrest and get violent criminals off the street, and we're dedicating more prosecutors to put criminals behind bars."

Here is the 7 point plan :

1. More police officers

One hundred and sixty-eight new police officers will focus on gangs over the next two years. Of those, 131 will be put in place immediately. That nearly doubles the number of dedicated officers working on organized crime to 368. Funding for these new officers will total $69 million over three years with $53 million coming from federal funding and $16 million through the provincial RCMP contract.

The new officers include two 16-member "satellite" gang units in Prince George and Kelowna, and a 10-member "weapons enforcement unit" dedicated to seizing illegal firearms.

2. More prosecutors

Ten additional Crown prosecutors will be dedicated to work with police and prosecute gangs. Combined with the 16 existing Crown prosecutors, there are now 26 prosecutors dedicated to fighting gang and gun crimes. This is on top of 49 prosecutors currently working on organized crime cases.

Prosecutors will: oppose bail when guns are used or present in the commission of a crime; proceed by direct indictment (straight to trial) on violent and guns offences; and seek maximum sentences in all guns cases.

A team of provincial tax auditors will also be enlisted to provide forensic accounting support to prosecutors and police. 


3. More jails and secure courts

The Province will invest $185 million to build 304 additional jail cells that will be able to hold more than 600 offenders:

* 180 cells at the Lower Mainland Pre-trial Centre - a new, maximum security jail in Burnaby detaining up to 360 inmates awaiting trial.
* 104 cells at the Alouette Correctional Centre for Women.
* 20 cells at the Prince George Regional Correctional Centre.

Construction of those facilities will create approximately 1,800 direct and indirect jobs.

Those expansions will build on 50 new cells that have recently been completed at the Fraser Regional Correctional Centre and 25 new cells at the Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre. The additional jail capacity will ensure no criminals or suspects are released due to space pressures in the corrections system.

Work will also be done with the courts to fully utilize three secure, specialized courtrooms to prosecute violent gang offenders -Vancouver (Air India), New Westminster and Surrey.

4. Tougher laws

The Province will vigorously pursue changes to the Criminal Code and Controlled Drug and Substances Act to give prosecutors more powers and keep criminals off the streets, including:

* Making it much harder for those accused of gun offences to get bail.
* Eliminating "2-for-1" credits for time served while awaiting trial, particularly for bail breaches, weapons or violent crimes.
* Expanding abilities to obtain and utilize wiretap evidence, especially for new technologies.
* Simplifying evidence disclosure requirements to expedite prosecution.
* More protection against intimidation for justice officials.
* Stronger powers to fingerprint suspects on-site.
* Pursuing re-introduction of federal Bills C-25 and C-26 that provide more power to detain violent youth and bring in mandatory minimum sentences for serious drug convictions.


5. Crackdown on illegal guns

* The creation of a 10-member "weapons enforcement unit" dedicated to seizing illegal firearms.
* Providing additional powers for the chief firearms officer and taking over responsibility for the federal firearms program in B.C.
* Undertaking more rigorous inspections and security standards for gun dealers and their stores.
* Increased licensing security rules for "prop masters", including reducing and limiting the number of authorized suppliers.
* Shutting down weapon retailers and prop masters who fail to secure their facilities against break-ins and are unable to account for lost or  stolen firearms due to negligence.
* Requiring all health facilities to report treatment of any patients with gunshot wounds.
* Prosecutors will pursue jail time for people convicted of illegal weapons possession and violent offences. 

6. Outlaw armoured vehicles and body armour

The Province will work to outlaw modified, armoured vehicles under the Motor Vehicle Act and provide more powers to confiscate and destroy them. The Province will also work with ICBC to ban registration and insurance of modified armoured vehicles. New powers will allow the confiscation of vehicles carrying illegal weapons. Authorities will also aggressively utilize the Civil Forfeiture Act in co-operation with prosecutors and forensic accountants to seize and sell vehicles obtained through unlawful activity. A new licensing regime will be implemented for the sale and purchase of body armour, including criminal record checks.

7. New gang hotline and rewards program

A new escalating rewards program will be introduced for anonymous tips and for information leading to the arrest and conviction of gang members. As well, a new gang hotline to help collect tips and catch criminals will be established. One million dollars will be put towards
youth education programs to deter youth from joining gangs, for a total of $3 million since 2006.

Authorities will aggressively utilize the Civil Forfeiture Act in co-operation with prosecutors and forensic accountants to seize all property obtained through crime, and flow funding back to community safety and victims programs. Local governments have received $220
million in additional dollars since the province started returning traffic fine revenue to communities.


The  Premier closed his remarks by saying the message to gangs is "You are not welcome in our Province, in our streets, in our neighbourhoods or anywhere in British Columbia."

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