United for a Safer B.C.
BC United Leader Kevin Falcon has announced his plan to put British Columbians’ right to safety ahead of the right of violent criminals to reoffend.
Under the NDP, B.C. has seen a 75 per cent increase in the rate of no-charge assessments, where individuals caught committing crimes are released with no charges. In Vancouver alone, this has led to the same 40 people being responsible for 6,385 negative police interactions in just one year, and an average of four people a day being subjected to random stranger attacks. The NDP’s catch-and-release program is compounded by a lack of adequate supports and treatment and rehabilitation programs for offenders with mental health and complex behavioural issues, increasing their entanglement with the justice system.
Our streets and public places belong to the public, not criminals. BC United will get back to putting British Columbians’ right to safety ahead of the right of violent criminals to reoffend.
Instead of addressing the root causes of crime, David Eby and the NDP have carelessly imposed a drug decriminalization policy without the proper guardrails or treatment options resulting in an increase in property crime and violent attacks. More than half of British Columbians fear becoming victims of crime in their own neighbourhood. If that’s not a wakeup call for the NDP, I don’t know what is.
Elenore Sturko
Shadow Minister for Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery
BC United’s key priorities include:
1. Aggressively fill 500 police vacancies across the province
- Aggressively fill existing police vacancies by accelerating investments to ensure local police agencies have the resources they need to attract and retain more officers, such as hiring bonuses and housing allowances to offset the high cost of living in many jurisdictions.
- Expand police training options and capacity, including working with the federal government to allow basic training for RCMP officers to take place in B.C. so that new recruits train here and stay here.
2. End the NDP’s failed and reckless decriminalization of illicit drugs
- Put an immediate end to the NDP’s decriminalization of illicit drugs
- Complete ban on open drug use in parks, playgrounds, beaches and public spaces.
3. Alternative sentencing and rehabilitation
- Individuals facing sentencing will be presented with a choice between traditional incarceration or secure treatment.
- This initiative includes constructing new facilities and repurposing existing prison spaces, making it possible to offer addiction and mental health services within BC Correctional institutions.
- The primary objective is to ensure that individuals released from the corrections system do not re-enter society with unresolved addiction issues.
4. Treat all crimes seriously
- Restore accountability and pursue consequences for all crimes, including shoplifting, bike theft and vandalism, rather than ignoring minor offences, and expand community service as a required option for sentencing for minor offences.
- Not every offence requires jail time, but all crimes should have consequences.
5. Pursue civil consequences for trafficking of drugs causing death
- Pursue civil litigation against dealers in cases where they sell lethal drugs that result in death by overdose.
- If servers can be held legally responsible for customers who drive drunk, traffickers who sell fatal drugs like fentanyl, carfentanil and W-18 should be held accountable too.
In addition, a Kevin Falcon-led government would restore safe communities in B.C. with the following further initiatives:
Supporting Police
- Fund body-worn cameras for all B.C. police: Ensure funding for body-worn cameras and streamline equipment approval for accountability and transparency.
- Dedicated hate crime teams: Allocate funds for liaison officers in all cities to combat hate-motivated crimes against minority communities.
Prosecuting Offenders
- Tougher stance on bail offenders: Prosecute all bail condition violators and increase prosecutor resources.
- Equal access to justice: Implement community courts for minor offenses and expand sentencing alternatives like mandatory drug treatment.
Combatting Crime
- Protecting at-risk kids in schools: Invest in after-school programs in high-risk areas.
- Partnerships against drug trade: Collaborate with western provinces to monitor and combat drug dealers and gangs.
- Control illicit drug supplies: Work with the federal government to regulate precursor imports for illicit drug production.
