BCPS releases data on nearly 4,800 bail hearings [Video]

The BC Prosecution Service released additional data on bail hearings in the province Tuesday, sharing the number of times it sought to keep different types of offenders in custody while they awaited trial.

The manually collected data covers nearly 4,800 bail hearings that occurred between November 2022 and December 2023 and is not exhaustive. The data was recorded during six non-consecutive, two-week periods across the overall time frame, with periods in November and December of 2022 and February, March, May, June, September and December of 2023.

The data is published on the provincial government’s website. 

12% of accused ‘violent’ offenders held in custody

Of the 4,755 bail hearings recorded, 2,355 – or just under half the total – involved alleged violent offences.

The category “violent offences,” according to the BCPS, includes “any offence where violence is used, threatened, or attempted,” as well as any case in which the accused faces a weapon-related charge.

In those cases, the BCPS sought …