Vancouver – he Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia (TLABC) is calling for BC Attorney General Niki Sharma to explain to British Columbians why a majority of the recommendations from the Ministry of the Attorney General’s (MAG) 2023 Report to the Chief Sheriff on the shortage crisis are still not implemented one year later.
Delays in proceedings in Abbotsford and Chilliwack have been noted in social media and local media.
In 2023, the MAG prepared a report to the Chief Sheriff of the British Columbia Sheriff Service (BCSS) about the BCSS’ recruitment and retention challenges underlying BC’s sheriff shortage crisis. That 2023 Report highlighted a number of concerning findings, including:
● The BCSS lost nearly 12% of its sheriffs in one year, and the rate of attrition is rising: “…since
fiscal year 2020-21, the attrition rate has sharply increased and stands at 11.7% as of the fiscal
year-end for 2022-23.”
● It was “estimated that 40% to 50% of Sheriffs have a second job” to overcome low pay in the
BCSS
● “Unsuitable radios and communications infrastructure… [Deputy Sheriffs] feel like their safety is
not valued”
● “sheriffs expressed frustration regarding delays and difficulties in obtaining appropriate
uniforms”
● “concerns about insufficient safety equipment or equipment of questionable quality”
● “Lack of security gates… without security gates, the job of sheriffs can be more difficult, and
there is a greater risk that dangerous items may enter the courthouse.”
Some comments made by deputy sheriffs and collected in the Report are illustrative of the flaws in the
only action that the Attorney General has publicly pointed to as having been done so far:
● “It costs [47] thousand dollars to train a new recruit. We have to care that people leave for other
law enforcement agencies when we put in [47] thousand per person to train them up. We need
to figure out a way to make BC Sheriffs a career path and stop giving our employees to other
agencies.”
