Last March the BCGEU made their proposal to the provincial government to combat the growing gang violence in Metro Vancouver that would take the pressure off police forces and make additional officers available.

The proposal includes moving responsibility for some routine police duties like traffic patrol and serving warrants to B.C. sheriffs, freeing up police officers for more serious criminal investigations like the gang task force.

"Alberta moved to the new sheriff model in 2006, and it's worked out very well for them both from an economical and operational stand point," said Dean Purdy, chair of the union's Corrections and Sheriffs Services Component.

"In fact they've recently expanded their duties to include a gang task force. We can train sheriffs much quicker than police officers, and there are substantial cost savings for taxpayers in this model."

A police officer position in Alberta costs about $160,000 in salary, wages, benefits, support and equipment, compared to about $100,000 for a sheriff. In Alberta, sheriffs are currently paid at a higher wage rate than in B.C.

There are over 40,000 outstanding warrants waiting to be served in B.C.

"This is a model that can help achieve the provincial government's objectives quickly, at a reduced cost to taxpayers," says Purdy. "It would also help address the recruitment and retention issue in the sheriff corps, by expanding job opportunities and responsibilities. It's a win-win situation for B.C."

"Our sheriffs in B.C. are highly trained, skilled peace officers who can step into this role quite easily," he says.

Purdy says the current hiring freeze and the absence of a recruit class since November, 2008 have created a number of problems. "Almost all court houses in B.C. don't have enough deputy sheriffs to safely run day-to-day operations," says Purdy.

"Just last week the Quesnel court house had to cancel a trial because they didn't have a Deputy Sheriff for the court room. This recruitment & retention problem could be eased by a massive recruitment blitz and by going into bargaining with an open mind to bring our sheriffs up to par with the Alberta sheriffs."

The union has another request in for a meeting with the new Attorney General Mike de Jong, and are hopeful the government will be receptive to discussing our proposal.

In solidarity,

Dean Purdy
Component 1 Chair
Corrections & Sheriff Services
BCGEU