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FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Following a national hiring drive announced in January, the BC Prosecution Service (BCPS) is still looking to fill vacant Crown Counsel positions in northeast B.C.
The BCPS is seeking three new Crown Counsel of different levels of experience in 10 offices in northern B.C., including Fort St. John, Dawson Creek, and Fort Nelson.
Many municipal governments, businesses and community members have been voicing their concerns over the perceived rise in crime in the Peace region for the better part of a year.
Most recently, multiple Fort St. John business owners attended a council meeting on April 24th, detailing their experiences with property crime over the past year. The business owners asked council what could be done about the crimes being committed and asked for help in moving forward.
Council commended the business owners for their efforts and presentation and said the issue would require further communication and cooperation with the community and the RCMP. Ultimately, the council suggested a townhall style meeting with local business owners, the city, and the RCMP may be a good first step towards resolving the issues.
Inspector Anthony Hanson of the Fort St. John RCMP told Energeticcity.ca, as part of its Disrupting the Peace Investigative series, that the detachment tends to focus on the operational side of crime prevention. According to Hanson, this means trying to arrest prolific offenders.
“The reality is, and this is widely well known, is that a small minority of criminals create the vast majority of crime, and property crime offences are one of those areas where it’s very true.”
Around half of the 40 Crown Counsel positions the BCPS was aiming to hire this year have been filled, although more vacancies need to be filled due to attrition and retirement.
Some of the positions available after the announcement in January included repeat violent offender response teams, which was a part of the province’s safer communities action plan launched in November.
The BC Government launched the Repeat Violent Offending Intervention Initiative last month, with 12 hubs across the province, including Prince George, Williams Lake and Terrace. The hubs will be made up of police, dedicated prosecutors and probation officers focused on tackling repeat violent offending in every region of the province.
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