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B.C. courts lacking sheriffs, auditor general finds

Relaxed qualifications putting court safety at risk: report
bc-supreme-court-rk
Rob Kruyt

The B.C. Sheriff Service (BCSS) does not know if it has enough officers to ensure the safety of the province’s courts, the provincial auditor general said in a report released Oct. 24.

Auditor General Carol Bellringer said, while the service has worked since 2017 to overcome human resource challenges, more work needs to be done.

She said between 2012-13 and 2016-17, the service lost more staff than it was able to recruit, leading to a staffing shortage.

As part of its plan, the service increased the number of new sheriff recruits to try to resolve the shortage.

But, she said, the service does not know if staffing figures it’s targeting are sufficient to provide for the safety and security of the courts, because it does not have the data and tools to estimate the needed number..

Bellringer said the service has gathered some information on the reasons sheriffs leave for other jobs, but has insufficient data to determine the primary reasons, or how to retain staff it has.

“This is important given the critical need for sheriffs and the time and cost to train them,” the auditor general said in a news release. “New sheriff recruits receive considerable high-quality training that prepares them for the job, but the audit could not see that ongoing training did the same.”

Bellringer found that in 2017-18, fewer than 40% of sheriffs requalified on ongoing mandatory firearm and use of force training.

“During our audit, the BCSS relaxed its training requirements by allowing staff to go longer between requalifications,” said Bellringer. I

She said it made the change without examining the impact it would have on sheriffs’ ability to safely use their firearms or exert force.

“Even with this change, we found that 15-20% of staff had still not requalified on their firearm and use of force training on time,” Bellringer said.

She said improper use of a firearm or force could have significant consequences for courthouse staff and the public.

Failure to properly train sheriffs increases the risk of incidents, accidents and injuries should a sheriff need to use their firearms or force, she said.

More to come.

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