Goals, Objectives, Strategies, and Results — Continued

Goal 2: Public safety is enhanced through:
• emergency preparedness and response capacity;
• efficient coroners services;
• effective programs to regulate dangerous and unfit drivers;
• improved safety and efficiency of commercial vehicle operations;
• reduced incidence of illegal gambling; and,
• improved compliance with provincial liquor laws.

Core Business Area:

Policing and Community Safety

Objective 1:

Minimized loss of life and economic impact from disasters and emergencies

Strategies:

1. Continue to develop provincial capacity to respond to emergencies and disasters.

2. Assist local governments in preparing for emergencies and disasters by providing education and tools via the internet.

Individuals and local governments are responsible for their level of preparedness to respond to emergencies and disasters. However, as a crisis escalates, they need support and assistance from the province. Providing individuals and local governments with the tools to deal with emergencies will reduce the harm caused by disasters. Improving the provincial response capacity will result in reductions in loss of life and disturbance to property and ultimately aid in the recovery of the community.

The province is faced with many natural disasters as a result of changing weather patterns, greater mobility and natural occurrences. In 2003, the province responded to major avalanches, fire and flooding events.

As disasters are unpredictable in their nature, size, scope and area of occurrence, it is difficult for the Provincial Emergency Program (PEP) to maintain regular staff resources required to respond to all potential disasters. In order to address this issue, PEP initiated the Temporary Emergency Assignment Management System (TEAMS) to provide the province with the capacity to respond to disasters. PEP selects TEAMS members from across all ministries, provides them with training in emergency management, and maintains a log of member availability.

TEAMS members are available to assist local governments in the event of a disaster. They also provide staffing for the Provincial Emergency Coordination Center (PECC) and Provincial Regional Emergency Operations Centers (PREOCS). Without an adequate number of trained TEAMS members, the province may lack the capacity to respond to a major disaster such as the wildfires of 2003. The number of TEAMS members ready for deployment in an emergency is therefore used to assess the ministry's ability to enhance public safety by minimizing loss of life and economic impact from disasters and emergencies.

Objective 2:

Coroners' reports and Judgments of Inquiry are based on consistent and timely information and are completed in a timely fashion

Strategies:

1. Redesign the Coroners Case Management System (TOSCA).

2. Provide ongoing training to all coroners.

3. Provide coroners with electronic access to field investigation protocols.

The Coroners Service investigates all sudden and unexpected, unexplained or unattended deaths and makes recommendations to improve public safety through preventative measures. This service also helps people deal with the trauma of death through provision of timely and accurate information.

In order to develop effective recommendations for future prevention of death, accurate, timely and comprehensive data are required. Through electronic case management systems and protocols, more accurate and timely reports will be completed. In addition, more comprehensive data will be collected to compare similar cases and enhance recommendations for prevention. With diligent time management, at least 80 per cent of all files should be completed within four months.

Core Business Area:

Compliance and Consumer Services

Objective 3:

Improved driver safety

Strategies:

1. Review Driver Fitness and Driver Improvement Standards to identify those requirements that will have the greatest impact on driver safety and to eliminate any unnecessary requirements.

2. Introduce business process and system enhancements that free resources to focus on work that will lead to improved driver safety.

3. Work with ICBC to develop a senior driver strategy.

Within the Compliance and Consumer Service Branch, the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles (OSMV) delivers programs to improve driver safety while balancing clients' needs for service and fair treatment. Improving driver safety helps achieve the goal of enhanced public safety by ensuring drivers are safe, fit and able.

It is critical that decisions affecting the licensing privileges of dangerous or unfit drivers are reached and implemented quickly and efficiently. These decisions often involve requiring an individual to participate in a program of assessment, remediation or management of driving behaviour (e.g. driver fitness or driver improvement).

An important outcome measure directly linked to the objective of improved driver safety is the driver safety rate, which is calculated by ICBC. The driver safety rate reflects the percentage change in accident rates after drivers become involved in OSMV's driver fitness or driver improvement programs. OSMV's target is to improve safety levels while realizing efficiencies and reducing the regulatory burden. ICBC and the police also have a major influence on this target through their role in delivering driver programs.

As well as the driver safety programs discussed above, maintaining and enhancing the driver safety rate will depend on freeing available resources for additional safety-focused programming. This will be accomplished by reducing regulatory requirements and improving business processes and systems to facilitate efficient and timely case handling.

In addition, it should be noted that driver safety is significantly affected by factors other than regulatory programs, such as police enforcement levels, economic activity and demographic trends. For example, population ageing creates the challenge of dealing with more driver fitness cases within existing resources, and evolving human rights law has the potential to add extensive work to case management in driver fitness.

Objective 4:

Effective road safety enforcement, education and programs to regulate the commercial transport industry

Strategies:

1. Review and improve commercial transport regulations, eliminating unnecessary ones.

2. Reduce overlap between enforcement agencies.

3. Pursue increased cooperation between police and compliance enforcement services.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement Division establishes standards that govern the operation of British Columbia's commercial transport industry to ensure an appropriate level of safety and efficiency in the operation of commercial vehicles. The goal of improving the safety and efficiency of those operations is directly linked to the objective of effective road safety enforcement, education and regulatory programs.

A key performance measure linked to that objective is the out-of-service rate (OOS rate) for commercial vehicles. The OOS rate is compiled on the basis of statistics from random roadside inspections conducted according to standards developed by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), a North America-wide commercial vehicle safety organization. The OOS rate is the percentage of those commercial vehicles randomly inspected and found to have serious safety violations which render them unsafe.

The measure indicates the ministry's success in helping to enforce regulations and educate operators, and provides a reading of the industry's compliance with maintenance standards. It also assists in planning budget allocations.

Core Business Area:

Gaming Policy and Enforcement

Objective 5:

All allegations of illegal gambling activity are investigated in a timely manner

Strategies:

1. Complete implementation of the Integrated Illegal Gambling Enforcement Team, composed of RCMP and branch investigators.

2. Implement a ticket violation program for certain offences under the Gaming Control Act to reduce unnecessary court time.

3. Work with the RCMP and other law enforcement agencies to better identify and prosecute offenders and reduce the incidence of illegal gambling.

4. Develop branch experts qualified to give expert evidence at administrative hearings and court proceedings regarding illegal gambling activity.

Protecting public safety by reducing the incidence of illegal gambling in British Columbia is an important goal for the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch. The ability to identify and investigate alleged illegal gambling activity will minimize the related economic and social harm experienced by individuals and communities.

The establishment of the Integrated Illegal Gambling Enforcement Team will help the branch achieve its objective of investigating all allegations of illegal gambling by providing the resources necessary to investigate all complaints in a timely manner. Dedicated RCMP officers are being placed in regional offices, working along side branch investigators. In addition, enforcement action in the form of issuing tickets for some offences will provide an alternative to charges being laid, thereby reducing pressure on the court system. As well, partnerships will be established, on an as-needed basis, with other law enforcement agencies to ensure cross-jurisdictional cooperation in illegal gambling investigations.

Core Business Area:

Liquor Control and Licensing

Objective 6:

Improved industry cooperation to reduce problems associated with liquor misuse

Strategies:

1. Target inspection resources on high-risk establishments and focus inspections and investigations on service to minors, over-service, overcrowding and illicit alcohol.

2. Create tools to identify high-risk establishments in consultation with local governments, police, schools and licensees.

3. Improve Server Training Program to strengthen service to minors and over-service education components.

Industry members must acknowledge and accept that with the privilege of holding a liquor licence and maintaining a livelihood by selling liquor, comes a legal responsibility to minimize harm to their liquor-consuming customers and any individual or community affected by the consumption of liquor in their establishments. Strengthening the Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) program is key to licensees' and their employees' understanding of the responsibilities of selling and serving liquor.

Increasing the presence of enforcement staff in licensed establishments and at events where liquor is served is also an important element in achieving greater industry cooperation in reducing the problems associated with liquor misuse. Increasing the number of inspections and investigations will achieve several outcomes: it will raise awareness among liquor licensees that their performance in complying with regulations is being monitored; it will allow for the provision of professional advice and educational assistance to licensees who need to improve their understanding and implementation of regulatory requirements; and it will facilitate cooperative efforts with local police, fire, health and other organizations interested in reducing harm caused by liquor misuse. Together, these results should lead to improved voluntary compliance within the industry, thereby enhancing public safety.