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Sheriff shortage dominates debate at B.C. legislature

The dismissal of criminal charges against two accused drug dealers in less than a week due to a lack of sheriffs at the Victoria courthouse dominated debate at the B.C. legislature on Thursday.
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Attorney General Suzanne Anton came under fire Thursday for the shortage of sheriffs affecting the Victoria courthouse.

The dismissal of criminal charges against two accused drug dealers in less than a week due to a lack of sheriffs at the Victoria courthouse dominated debate at the B.C. legislature on Thursday.

For the second time this week, the NDP blasted Attorney General Suzanne Anton for depleting the court system of staff and allowing accused criminals to go free.

NDP critic Leonard Krog zeroed in on a Times Colonist report that an accused heroin dealer was smiling in the prisoner’s box Wednesday when a B.C. Supreme Court justice stayed three criminal charges against him because no sheriff was available for his trial. Four Victoria police officers had come to court to testify, and both the prosecutor and the defence lawyer were expecting the case to proceed.

“I can guarantee the attorney general that the justice wasn’t smiling,” Krog said. “The prosecutor wasn’t smiling. The police who put their lives at risk every day in the streets weren’t smiling. The parents of children who’ve died of drug overdoses weren’t smiling. Nobody’s smiling about this.”

Anton agreed, saying: “Nobody wants to see cases dismissed and not decided on their merits. Nobody wants to see accused persons go free when the question is a resourcing issue.”

She said the government is moving to fix the problem by boosting her ministry’s budget by $2.7 million and training more sheriffs. One class of 24 will graduate in May, a second class in October, she said.

“In Victoria this week, there are illnesses, and there are a couple of jury trials,” she said. “So there’s a lot of need for resources. That’s why I am ensuring that there will be additional resources in British Columbia with the two new classes that will be graduating this year — another 48 sheriffs coming on stream to keep our courtrooms safe.”

The Opposition, however, blamed Anton for neglecting the problem for years. Mike Farnworth, the NDP’s critic on policing issues, claimed there are 80 fewer sheriffs today than when Anton took office. He said the numbers have dropped to 420 from more than 500 across the province, and to 21 from 35 in Victoria.

Anton disputed those number, saying there are currently 481 sheriffs in B.C. — down from 519 in 2012-13.

Neither side was able to explain the discrepancy in numbers.

lkines@timescolonist.com

ldickson@timescolonist.com