Reducing crime and improving criminal justice in British Columbia

There are two ways in which British Columbia’s crime and victimization rates may be further reduced: (i) by identifying and tackling the primary causes of crime in the province; and (ii) by identifying and correcting the ineffi ciencies in the provincial criminal justice system that may, directly and indirectly, be contributing to criminal activity. [...] Particularly, and as a matter of prior- ity, the following issues: • sentencing practices in the British Columbian courts • the need for Crown Counsel to approve charges • the delays involved in disposing of cases in the Provincial Court; (b) To monitor, advise, and make recommendations on the coordination of all the compo- nents of the criminal justice system and the associated provincial ministr [...] The idea of a Commission is not new insofar as Commissions of this kind exist in other jurisdic- tions, primarily in some states in the United States and Australia and even at the municipal level in the former. [...] This kind of initiative would undoubtedly reduce the size and impact of a signifi cant component of the province’s underground economy which likely employs, directly and indirectly, a large number of people and reduce the size, and impact, of the proceeds of crime that are currently circulating in the economy. [...] The analysis includes a discussion of the problems created by the illegal trade in drugs and the role of criminal business organizations in that trade.