B.C. Public Safety Minister says program funding targets repeat violent offenders

Winnipeg Free Press

20-06-2025

SURREY – British Columbia's public safety minister says the provincial government is adding another $6 million to a policing initiative targeting repeat violent offenders.
Gary Begg says the money for the Special Investigation and Targeted Enforcement program will build on the initiative's past successes in leading to more than 2,600 criminal charges since its launch in 2023.
Begg says the funding has supported nearly 150 investigations in dozens of communities, leading to 'substantial' seizures of weapons, drugs and stolen goods.
The minister, who's a former RCMP officer, says policing challenges have been made more complex as 'mental health struggles, the toxic opioid crisis and homelessness have intensified in recent years.'
Begg says the program was launched originally as a three-year pilot project aimed at boosting policing capacity, and police departments now say it's 'as a critical tool in combating repeat violence.'
He says the funding for the program has benefited agencies, including the Metro Vancouver Transit Police, and is also credited by Vancouver police for a substantial drop in violent crime along the city's Hastings Street.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2025.