Police union calls for 'fulsome public safety plan' in B.C. ahead of provincial vote

The national union for RCMP officers is seeking to make public safety and bail reform a British Columbia election issue after repeat offenders were arrested for violent crimes, including a pair of gruesome attacks in downtown Vancouver last week.

The national union for RCMP officers is seeking to make public safety and bail reform a British Columbia election issue after repeat offenders were arrested for violent crimes, including a pair of gruesome attacks in downtown Vancouver last week.

The National Police Federation says it has launched a "pre-election program" calling on the winner of the Oct. 19 election to deliver a "fulsome public safety plan."

It describes the current bail system as "catch and release" and says there's a lack of data-informed support and monitoring of repeat offenders, resulting in public safety being compromised.

Thirty-four-year-old Brendan McBride was arrested last week over what police are calling two stranger attacks in downtown Vancouver, resulting in the death of 70-year-old Francis Laporte, while another victim's hand was cut off.

Court documents show that at the time of the attacks, McBride was on probation over an assault in White Rock, B.C., last September, and the man had been sentenced to 12 months of probation before that in July 2022 for a separate assault in North Vancouver.

National Police Federation vice-president Rob Farrer says the timing of the organization's call ahead of the election was somewhat coincidental, since it was more of a response to recent cases such as the Vancouver stranger attacks.

"It's not about the election per se," Farrer said. "We're trying to make sure that we keep on top of this. We're hearing from our officers, they're seeing it every day and British Columbians and Canadians generally are seeing this as a major issue."