You can only ignore crime on the streets for so long BC voters told municipal politicians..Government's job is to protect people, and civic leaders who won't do that can be replaced. In BC's October 15 municipal elections, 10 mayors lost their jobs..Reid Small, writing in the Western Standard Sep. 22, 2022, spoke of a landmark report — A Rapid Investigation into Repeat Offending and Random Stranger Violence in British Columbia — that may, in central Vancouver at least, have had something to do with it..The voter reaction is new. In the past, embarrassed city governments as well as the provincial NDP tried to downplay and deflect from the community frustrations arising from NDP-style administrative policies on street crime..This report, however, from researchers Doug LePard and Amanda Butler, thoroughly discredited government attempts to play down the rise in violent crime from repeat offenders and random attacks..Incredibly, NDP Attorney General Murray Rakin was quoted as saying, “I do not think that the people of B.C. believe that arresting and enforcing the law is the way to go.”.He also tried to blame Ottawa Liberals for their recent bail reforms that make it harder to keep repeat offenders in custody. (The Canadian Criminal Code provides for the detention of repeat offenders who violate bail conditions.).There are also precedents for directives to Crown prosecutors to seek detention of violent and repeat offenders in the public interest. However, the BC NDP has not provided the police manpower, court facilities or the necessary custodial resources to maintain community safety..Unfortunately, the NDP's “catch-and-release” policy has hurt communities: Now, the voters are reacting..Incumbent mayors in both Vancouver and Surrey were defeated last Saturday. Same in Penticton, where Julius Bloomfield is the new mayor, in Saanich where Dean Murdock edged out former mayor Fred Haynes, Cranbrook (Wayne Price), Langford (Scott Goodmanson), Kelowna (Tom Dyas), Nelson (Janice Morrison), Trail (Colleen Jones) and Williams Lake (Surinderpal Rathor.) This represents a basic shift on political ground..The report on crime, which was minimized by the NDP, said in part, "Community stakeholders (e.g., mayors, municipal officials, retailers) across the province expressed extreme frustration with increases in repeat and violent property crime. Police and probation officers conveyed because people who offend repeatedly are not being held accountable and conditions are not being enforced, they're emboldened to continue offending, deteriorating community confidence in the justice system. Crown counsel explained they are bound by recent legislation and case law, and the lack of health and social services for the accused, particularly in the northern regions, contributes to repeat cycles of offending..Stakeholders across the justice system expressed their desire for increased coordination of a multi-sectoral approach — with a robust governance structure — to provide access to services for people with repeat criminal justice encounters and for dedicated Crown Counsel and probation officers to better manage cases in court and the community..There are also opportunities to expand access to specialized/integrated courts, particularly for those people whose offending behaviour is directly related to psychosocial and health-related problems..Vancouver’s new mayor-elect, Ken Sim, says he made public safety the central theme of his campaign. Every candidate running under the banner of Sim's “A Better City” (ABC Party) won their seat, along with ABC candidates for the school and park boards. .Sim said the council he leads will focus on running city hall more efficiently and improving public safety. He also promised to hire an additional 100 police officers for Vancouver City and 100 mental health nurses..It's the latest example of how public safety and crime are becoming a big issue for election results. And, it’s a signal the BC provincial NDP are in some political difficulty, as the community mood changed against their traditional rationalizations about community safety..The report was blunt. Then the political response to the administrative record was sadly revealing..So, the voters responded.
