Delta’s Police Chief says he is looking forward to further investigation into the ongoing issue of prolific offenders in B.C. communities.
Neil Dubord said while Delta Police are dealing with a number of prolific offenders here in Delta, the numbers show that his department is managing the issue quite effectively.
“We are fortunate that way. Vancouver, Victoria and some of the larger centres have more prolific offenders and it is more difficult to manage,” he said. “I was thrilled to see the province looking at this and creating this task force. It is certainly an issue the demands more study and some solutions.”
Recently, the provincial government, in co-operation with British Columbia's Urban Mayors' Caucus (BCUMC), hired two experts to investigate and report on prolific offenders and random violent attacks.
The investigation and recommendations will be completed by two people: Doug LePard, former Vancouver Police Department deputy chief and former Metro Vancouver Transit police chief, who has authored several reports and sets of recommendations related to issues of crime and police response; and Amanda Butler, a health researcher and criminologist whose specialties include mental health, substance-use disorders, criminal justice systems and prison health.
Dubord said some of the things LePard and Butler will be looking at is the origins of evolving crime trends for chronic property crime and violent offences.
“So they’re actually going to look at the research, intelligence and analytical literature to see if they can find how these offenders are getting here to this stage in their life,” said Dubord. “They will use academic reports and practical knowledge in this review.”
Dubord said they will also be looking at legislation and what tools are available that police and others are maybe not using as effectively as they should.
“They are also going to look at electronic monitoring in the court system and the possibility of expanding that, which I think is a great, innovative approach,” he said. “There are also going to be reviews of mental health and housing supports, which I think is also vitally important to get to the root of this problem.”
