In late August, it was announced that the BC Prolific Offenders Report, that has been in the works since April, will be delayed.
The report was supposed to come out yesterday (September 2), but was pushed back to “mid September” with no hard date set.
Individuals working on the report cited “an overwhelming amount of people” reaching out with their thoughts and experiences surrounding the prolific offenders issue.
Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Mike Morris told My PG Now that he blames the Attorney General for the delay in the report, as well as inaction regarding prolific offenders.
“I am a little alarmed that the Attorney General wasn’t on top of this. The fact that we have had this revolving door of justice take place for as long as we have indicates to me the Attorney General is aware of it, and has done absolutely nothing to mitigate and address it.”
He said this delay should not have been a surprise to people, and that better communication from the Attorney General’s office is expected.
Morris expects the report to show that “people need to be held accountable for the crimes they are committing,” saying that many prolific offenders have learned how to game the criminal justice system, putting the public and police at risk while they themselves have no risk of criminal punishment.
“A lot of the files that the police have are getting increasingly violent because the prolific offenders know there is nothing punitive that can happen to them.”
When the report does eventually get released, Morris said he wants it to be fully available to the public, and for the Attorney General to lay out a plan on any strategy he might have.
“The police are getting increasingly frustrated, no matter what part of the province you are in. A lot of them are saying ‘why do we even bother arresting these guys when we know they are going to be out causing trouble again, putting police officers and people at risk.'”
Morris ended by saying this is an issue that should have been addressed years ago.
For more information on the report, click here.
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