October 2, 2006

BCGEU leaders took the concerns of deputy sheriffs right to the top when they met last Friday with B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal and several of his senior officials.

Union president George Heyman and Dean Purdy, Component 1 chairperson, raised a series of priority issues including:

• recruitment and retention;

• the need to restore the rover/first responder positions that have been at B.C. courthouses;

• search gates;

• access to long-service awards for peace officers; and

• what the future holds for deputy sheriffs in B.C.’s court system.

The union made a strong case for search gates to be installed at all court facilities. They presented the AG with stats from the first six months of 2006 from the New Westminster law courts where the search gates had been installed as part of the high profile Picton murder trial.

Seizures from the almost 140,000 people searched entering the courthouse included 2,200 knives, firearm parts, 641 scissors, syringes and drug paraphernalia, 360 tape recorders and 1,100 other contraband/weapons.

While Alberta is moving to install the gates through its court system, the union says the New Westminster stats offer conclusive evidence that the B.C. government should move in the same direction to make courthouses safer. AG Oppal said he recognized our concerns and promised that discussions about the health and safety value of search gates would continue with the component.

Almost immediately after Purdy and Heyman raised the issue around recognizing the contributions made by deputy sheriffs, Oppal agreed that they should be eligible to receive the meritorious long service award that other peace officers are eligible to receive. AG staff will make the necessary award program administrative changes quickly.

On recruitment and retention issues, the union warned that deputy sheriffs are leaving B.C. for Alberta and for police forces because of better pay. Oppal’s advisors acknowledged that problems exist but were short on solutions. The two sides agreed to continue discussions, and the union promised to gather more information to support special market adjustments.

Purdy and Heyman both agreed that overall, the meeting was positive. "It was a good session, and we had a constructive exchange about solutions for our priority concerns," says Heyman.

Oppal’s front-line experience as a judge, says Purdy, help him understand the complexities of BCGEU members’ concerns. "He knows about our work and respects the role played by deputy sheriffs in our court system," Purdy says.

Deputy attorney general Allan Seckel and Helen Pedneault, assistant deputy minister for court services, also attended the meeting.

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