Special committee to review and reform 45-year-old Police Act
Posted July 8, 2020 10:11 pm.
Last Updated July 8, 2020 10:16 pm.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A special committee to review and reform the Police Act, was appointed Wednesday by Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth.
This committee includes four Liberal MLAs, one Green MLA, and four NDP MLAs.
Farnworth says the committee is charged with modernizing the Act and addressing the systemic racism within it will be the primary focus.
“The special committee will provide a final report including recommendations to the legislative assembly of May 2021,” he says. “We know this is review will take time but it is long overdue and we want to make sure we get it right.”
Farnworth says the committee will conduct consultations, and engage with communities and experts in order to form their recommendations.
“We know that the 45-year-old act is outdated and does not reflect today’s challenges or opportunities in delivering police services for everyone,” Farnworth says. “As we know our institutions in this province has systemic racism built into them so it is the role for the committee to examine that and bring back recommendations.”
They will be making recommendations on things like harm reduction, and impacts on mental health.
