THE BC Liberals said on Monday that while Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth thinks expanding upon their successful Prolific Offender Management pilot program is the solution to B.C.’s failed catch-and-release justice system, past comments by would-be premier David Eby suggest he doesn’t necessarily agree.
In announcing the partial release of the Prolific Offender Report on September 21, Farnworth described the program as “an important evidence-based tool” and further as, “a key recommendation… we want to move on it very quickly.”
But the BC Liberals pointed out that when Eby was head of the BC Civil Liberties Association, he had nothing positive to say about the program in a 2011 interview with the Vancouver Sun. He told the outlet, “We have serious concerns with the results of this program and are continuing to investigate the aggressive policing tactics.”
“How can the public have any confidence this NDP government is going to do anything about prolific offenders when their members are contradicting each other on possible solutions?” asked Mike Morris, Opposition Critic for Public Safety and Solicitor General and former RCMP officer. “The NDP needs to get its story straight and take action today to reassure the public that change is coming.”
“Frontline officers and members of the public have had enough of David Eby’s catch-and-release justice system. Now, after waiting months for a delayed report on the matter, it looks like the NDP are going to waste more time squabbling over its contents,” said Surrey South MLA and former RCMP officer Elenore Sturko. “If David Eby doesn’t agree that the pilot program was useful and should be reinstated — as his colleague Minister Farnworth believes — then he should tell us what concrete ideas he has to restore people’s faith in the justice system and help them feel safe on our streets once again.”
Read: Eby remarks on Prolific Offender Management Program, 2011