Prosecutors in B.C. don’t have a very high win percentage when it comes to bail hearings, according to new data provided by the BC Prosecution Service.
According to the data, accused persons were detained in 41 per cent of cases where Crown sought detention during a two-week sample period in December.
That is down slightly from figures from the fall of 2022 (44 per cent), prior to a change in bail policy for B.C. prosecutors to seek detention of certain repeat offenders.
The data released by the prosecution service covers 4,800 bail hearings between November of 2022 and December of 2023.
“Crown counsel sought restrictive bail conditions in approximately three quarters of these hearings and sought detention in the other quarter,” the agency said in a statement.
“Judges ordered detention in less than half of these cases — approximately 41 per cent.”
The data shows Crown sought detention in nearly one third of cases involving allegations of violence. Judges ordered accused persons detained in approximately 43 per cent of those cases.
The data shows prosecutors seek detention in about a quarter of cases in which a bail hearing is held. The rest of the time, Crown was not opposed to the accused person’s release and instead sought restrictive conditions.
The data shows prosecutors have not been more likely to seek detention since B.C.’s bail policy was tightened up in 2022. If anything, they are doing it slightly less — in approximately 23 per cent of bail hearings, down from 25 per cent.
A new federal law came into effect in January, after the BC Prosecution Service's samples were connected, making it more difficult for repeat violent offenders to access bail.
A report last month from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said Canada’s bail system has worsened over the last decade.
