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Pilot B.C. project approved to expand sheriffs' duties

'This is about improving road safety for all British Columbians and working to provide additional resources to police forces.' - Dean Purdy.

Vancouver (8 Sept. 2010) - The lobbying campaign by the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU/NUPGE) to push for an expansion of sheriff duties to include routine traffic responsibilities appears to be bearing fruit.

In a recent media interview Attorney General Mike de Jong gave the go ahead for a pilot project that will include a small number of BCGEU Component 1 deputy sheriffs doing routine traffic duties in the province.

“We have supported the government with this ever since we first presented the idea in 2007," says Dean Purdy, chair of the BCGEU's corrections and sheriff services component. "We are pleased to learn the attorney general has decided to go ahead with a pilot project."

In 2007, the union met with former Attorney General Wally Oppal and recommended an expansion of sheriffs’ duties to include routine traffic duties.

In 2009, the BCGEU put forward its proposal repeatedly to de Jong. The proposed change would take the pressure off police forces and make additional officers available for more serious investigations, such as gang task force and drug crimes, the union argues.

“B.C. sheriffs have been underutilized for many years," notes Purdy.

"This is about improving road safety for all British Columbians and working to provide additional resources to police forces. We see this as a win-win for both the B.C. sheriffs and the police. It makes complete sense from a safety standpoint on how resources are utilized," he argues.

"We've been hearing from the public for months now that they want to see the police concentrating on more serious crimes. It has been proven that by putting additional resources on the road and focusing more resources in this area, we will improve safety on the roads for all British Columbians."

Alberta moved to the new sheriff model in 2006.

”This has worked out very well both from an economical and operational stand point,” says Purdy. “In fact, they have recently expanded their duties to include a gang task force.”

BCGEU would also like to see sheriffs take on additional duties.

"There are currently more than 40,000 outstanding warrants in B.C.," Purdy points out. "Our sheriffs, who are highly trained and skilled peace officers, could step into this role quite easily as well."

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE

More information:
BCGEU says sheriffs could ease police workload