People facing failure-to-appear-in-court charges all being assigned to certain courthouses is skewing statistics and results in unfair taxpayer burdens, the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) says.
A resolution from Duncan was approved by delegates at the UBCM’s annual general meeting in Vancouver.
It said 100 per cent of such charges at provincial courthouses are assigned to the policing statistics of the local government in which the courthouse is located.
And, that, the resolution said, has a disproportionate impact on the policing costs assigned to small municipalities with courthouses that serve a much broader area outside their jurisdiction.
Further, it said, that inflates the Criminal Code case load for all local governments with courthouses within their jurisdiction and results in an unfair burden for local taxpayers.
Duncan Coun. Tom Duncan said local statistics showed 325 charges, whereas only 20 of the charges originated in the city.
He called the current situation unfair.
