Appendix 1. Strategic Context

Vision, Mission and Values

Vision

People are safe at home and in their communities.

Mission

To ensure the security and economic vitality of communities through effective policing, corrections, liquor and gaming control and other protective and regulatory programs

Values

The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General shares with all government organizations a commitment to affordability, efficiency, accountability, innovation and reform, and a healthy, supportive workplace. In addition, the ministry strives to deliver its unique services in accordance with these values:

• Respect for the law
• Integration of services
• Community participation
• Risk management
• Self-regulation
• Balance of consumer protection with economic vitality

Planning Context

Many factors influence the ministry's ability to carry out its public safety mandate and achieve its goals and objectives. Some of these factors place the ministry in a strong position to move forward and build on past successes. Others present opportunities to take new and innovative approaches. New opportunities can lead to significant improvements in the way the ministry provides its services. The strengths and opportunities that currently affect ministry planning are identified in this section of the document.

Strengths

• The ministry mandate clearly focuses on public safety, effectively guiding the ministry in defining direction and priorities.
• The Corrections Branch is re-developing its operational system — CORNET2. This is a significant project that will render more efficient, timely and accurate data collection, integrates and enhances offender case management, amalgamates several internal systems, and interfaces with external systems (i.e., JUSTIN and the Correctional Services of Canada Offender Management System).
• The ministry has an excellent working partnership with the police and law enforcement agencies of the province. This relationship exists at the most senior levels, both one-on-one and through existing agencies (e.g., the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police and the B.C. Association of Municipal Chiefs of Police), as well as at the staff level, individually and through various working committees.
• The ministry is implementing innovative crime-fighting technology that will enhance officer and public safety and improve law enforcement across the province. PRIME, the Police Records Information Management Environment, will connect every municipal police department and RCMP detachment in the province, so that information about criminals and crimes can be shared within minutes. British Columbia is the first jurisdiction in the country to adopt a provincewide, online police records management system.
• The ministry continues to be recognized as a national leader in victim services and the prevention of youth crime, violence, bullying and sexual exploitation.
• The ministry has implemented the Electronic Victim Information System to streamline the administration of Crime Victim Assistance Program Benefits.
• The ministry is continuing to strengthen partnerships with organizations, communities and governments in the areas of crime prevention and victim services.
• The ministry is implementing a system to allow for the real-time reporting of the results of critical safety inspections completed on commercial vehicles by the ministry's Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement Division (CVSE) and police agencies across the province. This will reduce the time it takes to get inspection results into the electronic database from six to eight weeks to a matter of minutes. The system will allow CVSE and police to better monitor the safety of the commercial transport industry and will enhance road safety across the province.
• The ministry has implemented FIGARO as a licensing and regulatory system originally developed to support three separate program areas:
• Private Investigators and Security Agencies;
• Film Classification; and,
• Gaming Policy and Enforcement.
• The ministry has consolidated gaming agencies from five to two and introduced new, consolidated gaming legislation.
• A consistent level of grant funding has enabled government to maintain its commitment to charities. Two grant programs managed by the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch distribute $137 million to more than 5,000 community organizations around the province, so that important programs and service can be delivered at the local level.
• Improved contract management processes for the Problem Gambling Program will ensure enhanced service delivery and accountability. A comprehensive review of problem gambling clinical and prevention services identified a number of areas where improvements could be made. New contracts for service delivery are now in place, and regular reporting will allow for further program evaluation and enhancement in 2004.
• The ministry continues to benefit from a strong, skilled workforce and from sound, stable leadership and effective management during a period of restructuring and change. Ministry employees are well-trained professionals who remain focused on the strategic goals of the ministry and are dedicated to serving the public and their communities.
• The ministry has a progressive Human Resource Management Plan (see Appendix 3) focused on effective leadership, on human resource planning that is specific to business requirements, employee performance and development, and on safety in the workplace.
• The ministry has embarked on an initiative called Learning and Leading to support its employees at all levels in learning new skills, to strengthen collaboration, and to encourage innovation and creativity in delivering services and programs.
• The Corrections Branch is undertaking a wellness program for all staff to better maintain their health while working in a demanding environment.

Opportunities

• The Corrections Branch is undertaking initiatives to advance integrated offender management. These projects will enhance access to reliable and timely offender data, will improve case management practices between adult custody and community corrections, and will integrate the principles and practices of core programs more firmly in offender supervision.
• The Corrections Branch will further expand its quality management processes to promote excellence in adherence to its legislation and policies and ensure effectiveness in all aspects of operations.
• Through the use of offender risk/needs assessments, the Corrections Branch continues to target its resources towards supervision of offenders in the community and correctional centres that present the highest risk to re-offend and the greatest need for program intervention.
• Core programs developed to target those factors identified by research as being associated with re-offending behaviour will continue. These programs include anger management, substance abuse management, family violence prevention, relapse prevention for sex offenders, educational upgrading, and cognitive skills. A seventh program to enhance living skills will be developed and implemented.
• Gender-specific core programs for female offenders are being researched and developed for implementation in the new facilities for women, the Alouette Correctional Centre for Women, the Surrey PreTrial Service Centre and the Prince George Regional Correctional Centre.
• The excellent working relationship between the ministry and provincial police and law enforcement agencies ensures a daily exchange of information which greatly assists in achieving financial and operational accountability and ensuring there is an adequate and effective police service throughout British Columbia.
• With the ability to take advantage of technology, the ministry continues to increase integration of police services by consolidating some police jurisdictions and creating specialized police units to improve police effectiveness and efficiency.
• Full implementation of PRIME will be completed throughout the province during fiscal year 2005/06.
• The Provincial Emergency Program continues to be a leader in coordinating the integrated response structure for emergency management. This allowed the province to respond effectively to Firestorm 2003 and the fall flooding, and establishes a model for British Columbia and other provinces to utilize.
• The ministry will continue to partner with the federal government on crime prevention initiatives that enhance public safety and support the increased participation of victims in the criminal justice system.
• The ministry continues to be a leader in developing responses to the needs of victims of crime, including those impacted by family and sexual violence. The ministry continues to provide relevant and responsive training programs for victim service workers and justice system personnel.
• The Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement Division (CVSE) is reviewing its policy restricting its law enforcement staff from enforcing moving violations. Recent crash statistics indicate driver behaviour, such as aggressive driving, is now the leading causal factor in heavy commercial vehicle crashes. Allowing CVSE staff to enforce moving violations will help address the over-representation of commercial vehicles in serious injury and fatal crashes as well as result in greater coordination amongst traffic law enforcement agencies.
• A strategic plan for the delivery of road safety law enforcement will be implemented and will be coordinated with law enforcement agencies to enhance road safety in the province.
• The Coroners Service is working toward establishing the capability of statistically monitoring and analysing trends in causes of death. This capability will form the basis for subject-specific review of common causes of death which, in turn, is intended to eventually lead to the development of a new process for death review beyond the current case-by-case analysis. This is a significant shift in the manner in which we seek preventative efforts beyond our current two processes — Judgment of Inquiry or Inquest.
• Establishing the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority (BPCPA) will allow for greater flexibility in delivering consumer protection and regulating high-risk industries. Flexibility in the legislation will allow the BPCPA to assume additional responsibility for other consumer protection functions and new lines of business in the future.
• The Ministry will pursue options to encourage the development of innovative solutions and the use of leading-edge technologies and business solutions in the more effective delivery of programs to the public. For example, the recently initiated joint solutions procurement for the Residential Tenancy Office (RTO) will allow vendors to develop solutions that will assist RTO to enhance service quality at a lower cost to taxpayers.
• The ministry is proactively seeking consolidation and harmonization of consumer services amongst its provincial counterparts. For example, the Film Classification Office is actively involved in developing a national strategy to address harmonization and efficiencies in the delivery of film, video and video game classifications, and to achieve enhanced media education and awareness on film ratings and content.
• The Liquor Reform Project will help government fulfill its commitment to ensure that liquor distribution and retailing continues to meet the needs of customers.⁵ At the same time, the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch will continue to focus on increasing public safety, upholding community standards and reducing the costs associated with liquor misuse.
• The ministry will continue to work toward a level playing field for liquor retail and warehousing in British Columbia. The Liquor Control and Licensing Branch will continue to improve the ability of licensee retail stores to compete with each other and with government liquor stores while encouraging responsible alcohol sales and use.
• The Illegal Gaming Strategy will enable the ministry to more aggressively pursue and reduce the incidence of illegal gambling activity in British Columbia.
• The Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch will continue streamlining the regulatory environment to eliminate unnecessary requirements on service providers and gaming participants, and will focus resources on implementing the Responsible Gambling Strategy designed to reduce the harmful impacts of excessive gambling and to encourage responsible gaming practices and healthy choices.
• The ministry will continue to increase use of the internet and intranet for self-service to external clients and ministry staff.
• Employee Performance Development Plans (EPDPs) are developed for all employees to encourage individual and organizational learning, development and performance, and align individual employee performance with the goals and objectives of the ministry.

Highlights of Strategic Shifts and Changes from the Previous Service Plan

Changes in Strategic Direction

There have been no significant changes in the ministry's overall strategic directions since the ministry's last service plan was published in February 2003.

Following what we learned from the 2001 core review of ministry programs and services, the ministry continues to further its commitment to enhance public safety and provide safer streets and schools in every community. The ministry has followed through on a number of strategic shifts identified in the previous year's service plan, including: enhancing the effectiveness of police agencies through technological and operational changes; moving toward a new supervision model to target resources on managing high-risk offenders to ensure the maximum level of protection to the public; encouraging community ownership of community-based crime prevention programs; and reducing the number and complexity of regulations in the liquor, gaming and consumer industries.

As demonstrated by the goals and objectives presented in this service plan, the ministry is continuing to seek innovative ways to increase public safety, enhance community capacity, and ensure that British Columbians have a fair and efficient system of justice.

Changes to Structure and Content

Each year, government issues new guidelines for developing the next three-year service plans. The guidelines change from year to year as more ways are found to improve the plans and make them more consistent across government. The ultimate goal is a service plan model that is compatible with most ministries and presents consistent information at the appropriate level according to a standardized format.

Significant changes to structure and content for this year's service plan over the previous year's plan include the following:

• Last year's plan contained fourteen branch-level goals. In contrast, and in keeping with the new guidelines, this year's plan presents three high-level goals for the ministry. The ministry-level goals are supported by more than one core business area and the core business areas support more than one goal.
• The previous plan presented goals, objectives, strategies, measures and targets in tables with very little supporting text. This year only selected key measures and targets are presented in tabular format and key objectives and strategies, also limited in number, are accompanied by text that describes how they are linked and how they are expected to assist in achieving the ministry-level goals.
• There is a greater emphasis this year on limiting the plan to a few key business aspects and reducing the total number of performance measures, as opposed to covering a broader segment of the ministry's responsibilities as done in last year's plan. Accordingly, objectives, strategies and measures have been culled or restated to make them more accurately reflect the direct accountabilities of the core business areas. Targets themselves have been adjusted where necessary to reflect changing fiscal realities, staff and program reductions, and other challenges involved in balancing the ministry's overall budget.

Consistency with Government Strategic Plan

The third annual three-year Government Strategic Plan is the guiding document for the government of British Columbia, outlining its goals and providing the broad framework for individual ministry service plans.

The government plan calls for safe communities and a fair and efficient system of justice as objectives in realizing the government's vision of a prosperous and just province, whose citizens achieve their potential and have confidence in the future.

The ministry's vision, mission and values, described earlier in this document, support government's vision for the province. Further, ministry core business areas are working separately and together to address justice-related strategies in the government plan.

Ministry Links to Government Strategic Actions