JMinistry ofustice
VICTORIA - A freshly minted graduating class of a dozen new deputy sheriffs will be deployed to communities throughout British Columbia to protect courthouses and justice system participants, announced Attorney General and Minister of Justice Suzanne Anton recently.
The new recruits will serve B.C. courthouses in Prince George, Fort St. John, Quesnel, Kamloops, Terrace, Williams Lake, Dawson Creek, Vernon and Cranbrook. One additional recruit will be based out of New Westminster and will serve several courthouses in the Lower Mainland, including Vancouver Law Courts, North Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey and Port Coquitlam.
Graduates are specifically trained to uphold the security of courthouses and the safety of court users, and have completed an intensive 16-week Sheriff Recruit Training program at the Justice Institute of British Columbia in New Westminster, one of Canada's leading providers of public-safety-sector training. The program included both in-class and field training at courthouses.
The primary responsibilities of sheriffs include:
• Providing prisoner escorts between courthouses, correctional centres and police lock-up facilities.
• Courthouse and courtroom security, including the management of courthouse lock-up facilities.
• Jury management.
•Providing protection services to government as well as threat assessment to ministries.
The new recruits join an existing complement of approximately 495 sheriffs serving throughout the province.
Suzanne Anton, Attorney General and Minister of Justice said, "B.C. sheriffs provide a critical service for every British Columbian who is involved with the courts, and I congratulate this graduating class of new recruits. I know that they will make significant contributions to public safety and I wish them longand successful careers with B.C." Sheriff Services."