Fugitive Return Program expands BC-wide
Posted March 3, 2012 3:24 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Those running from the law across the country can forget about hiding out in BC — there’s a new program in place to ship out-of-province fugitives back home, no matter where they’re hiding.
The province, Mounties, BC sheriffs and local police have signed an agreement to clear the way for a new Fugitive Return Program.
Attorney General Shirley Bond says there has been a pilot project in place for over a year in Vancouver and Victoria, but now its going province-wide.
“We know that crime doesn’t have a boundary, and they certainly don’t respect any, so in fact we’re looking at trying to return fugitives from a number of areas around the province, and this program will help us do that,” says Bond.
The program will be funded through the Civil Forfeiture Program, starting at $40,000 a year. A coordinator will work with police agencies as a single point of contact and maintain a list of offenders to be sent packing, prioritizing prolific and high-risk offenders, including gangsters, at the top of the list. Police can then send the fugitives back to the jurisdictions in which their warrant was issued, either on the criminal’s own dime, or request funding for that flight from the program.
Since 2008, a similar program run by the Vancouver Police Department called Con Air has already transported 98 fugitives out of BC to face charges.
