The city of Williams Lake will be home to one of the 12 hubs announced by the province this week to deal with repeat violent offenders.
Williams Lake will be the smallest community on the list to be a location for the dedicated prosecutors and probation officers who will work with local stakeholders to improve outcomes in dealing with repeat violent offenders.
“Williams Lake is very grateful and really appreciates being chosen as one of the 12 community hubs for this program,” said Coun. Scott Nelson.
“We believe it will target the key prolific offenders and violent offenders that are on our streets.”
The hubs are aimed at creating a more coordinated response to repeat violent offenders across the justice system while also connecting offenders to services to support better outcomes.
The planned hubs will be located across the province, and in the Interior region, they will be in Kamloops, Kelowna, Cranbrook, and Williams Lake. Other hubs will be located in Nanaimo, Victoria, Vancouver, Surrey, New Westminster, Abbotsford, Prince George, and Terrace.
The city said it will continue to monitor and support the initiative.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their community, wherever they live,” said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, in the province’s release announcing the program.
The province is calling is the Repeat Violent Offending Intervention Initiative and is investing $16 million over three years.
The initiative will also be supported by the new Special Investigation and Targeted Enforcement program with the intended aim of strengthening targeted investigations by law enforcement of repeat violent offenders and to improve information sharing between police agencies.
Williams Lake RCMP Acting Insp. Brad McKinnon said the RCMP welcomes the news and are eager to work with the province, stakeholders and partner agencies on the initiative.
A situation table formed in Williams Lake in2017 continued to meet weekly, he confirmed.
READ MORE: Province setting up 12 ‘hubs’ around B.C. dedicated to targeting repeat violent offenders
READ MORE: B.C. launches hiring drive for Crown prosecutors to help address repeat offending
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