Drug prosecutor needed: LPS chief
Chief Federal Prosecutor would welcome request from City
Lethbridge Police Service Chief Rob Davis had a request for city council during Monday’s Community Issues Committee meeting: help push for a full-time federal prosecutor to work specifically on drug cases in Lethbridge and the surrounding area.
“A city this size, and if you look at the surrounding area, with the Blood Tribe Police Force and RCMP, I’m confident there would be more than enough drug work for a dedicated full-time federal Crown to manage these prosecutions,” he said.
He said the lack of that dedicated Crown has created a situation where drug crime prosecution is peacemeal at best.
“They do a great job,” Davis said. “But they are not the full-time dedicated federal Crown like you would see in a large centre. As long as that system exists, I believe, and would suggest, we are at a slight disadvantage, given the drug crime that is out there.”
The message from the body overseeing management of federal Crown prosecutors is clear: they want council to get in touch.
“They are welcome to send me a letter,” said Barry Nordin, Chief Federal Prosecutor for the Alberta Region with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, in a phone interview from Edmonton on Wednesday. “I would love to receive it.”
He said a request from city council would provide an impetus for his office to begin the process of looking into whether a resident Crown was needed. It could possibly put a priority on the city in terms of need.
Federal prosecutors handle drug crimes involving the Controlled Drug and Substances Act, as well as some directly related crimes such as money laundering and organized crime.
Tertiary crime, such as property crime, is handled through the province.
Currently, the only resident federal prosecutors in the province are located in Calgary and Edmonton. All other courts are served by appointees.
Appointees are responsible for advising police on investigations and, should the matters result in charges handled by federal prosecutors, appointees would take control of those cases and see them through to the conclusion of the matter.
If Lethbridge were to get a full-time resident Crown, it would be the first time that has happened outside of Calgary and Edmonton.
“It would be new,” Nordin said. “But it’s not something that we’re ruling out.”
Prior to placement decisions, an analysis would be done — including a cost-benefit analysis.
“Does it financially make sense to put in a full-time employee in Lethbridge?” Nordin asked. “But it’s not just a financial consideration. There are other things that have to be considered as well.”
To some extent, more work would need to be done to better identify the City’s specific concerns, and whether there is a failure in the system or an overload of matters to be settled.
“At the end of the day, we would come up with a bottom line to say if we were to put a resident Crown prosecutor in Lethbridge, it would cost us ‘X’ number of dollars. Currently we are spending ‘Y’ on agents, and is the difference significant enough for us to move forward or not?”
“I don’t know what the answer is to that.”
Nordin said his office is undertaking some work to determine the effectiveness of all appointees to determine whether “repatriating” or adding resident Crowns to some areas would be appropriate. He said Lethbridge has not been an immediate priority.
“That doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong. But if we can escalate it in terms of priority, we will.”
However, he said the end result is not as clear as a “yes” or “no” answer, and that there could be a number of alternatives designed to best suit the needs of any given area.
“It’s a balance between fiscal imperatives and the benefit we get from spending that money.”
Nordin said recruitment can be an issue for placement. He also said a sole prosecutor in an office is not necessarily the best position, as there is a need for prosecutors to consult on what they are doing.
“It’s fraught with challenges,” he said. “You’re constantly making decisions and you’re never able to sit back and (double check).”
Nordin said they do not often see requests for resident Crowns, but it is something that is entertained often internally.
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