Work has begun on bringing a First Nations court to northern B.C.
Prince George RCMP Supt. Warren Brown gave city council the head's up during his annual presentation at city hall on Monday night that an effort is now underway.
He also expressed support for the initiative, noting that each of the three other RCMP districts in the province already have one.
"None exists in the North District which we are a part of, and the district is 73 per cent of the province, 37 detachments...so we say it's time to have one here and we're working toward that," Brown told council.
In an interview Wednesday, Brown also noted North District has the highest aboriginal population in B.C. and is home to the most reserves.
"In Prince George and other communities in northern B.C., our crime rates are over-represented by aboriginal people," Brown said. "What that tells me, and it's not fault, to anybody, but we can't expect to continue to do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome."
To have a case heard in the venue, the offender must be aboriginal and have pleaded guilty and the crime committed must be minor.
From there, a provincial court judge would oversee a process similar to a restorative justice sentencing circle.
With the help of friends, family and other advocates, a picture would be painted for the judge of who the offender is and the underlying reasons that brought him into conflict with the law.
With the help of an elder, a "healing plan" is drafted, focussed primarily on dealing with the issues that got the offender in trouble in the first place, but could also include doing community work and repaying the victim for the damage done.
The terms would then be issued in the form of probation and, depending on the case, if the offender meets the goals and objectives, the offense could be waived from the criminal record. Conversely, jail time could also be issued, depending on the case. And if the healing plan isn't followed, there could be a greater consequence.
In a statement, Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Mike Morris, a former North District RCMP superintendent and now the province's Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General, said specialized courts "are an important part of B.C.'s justice system and offer an alternative to the traditional court process."
He also said the Ministry of Justice "will soon release a strategy to guide the development of specialized courts and assist communities in assessing which justice solutions may be the most responsive and effective for their communities."
Brown hopes to see a First Nations court up and running in Prince George sometime this year.
