Williams Lake City Council is pushing the idea of an electronic monitoring program for offenders once again.
“We’re not after the one kid who steals a chocolate bar, what we’re after is the guys that got 277 files against them and 265 charges against them.” says Scott Nelson, Williams Lake City Councillor.
Council has also been writing letters about this issue to the provincial government, the attorney general, and to the Provincial Court of BC in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.
“It’s been a massive coordinated effort amongst the RCMP, Victims Assistances, the Crown Council, the judges, community, council as a whole. We have been extremely proactive trying to insure we can identify exactly where this problem is.”
Council has also been receiving letters in support of the push for this idea. Some who support the idea include MP Todd Doherty, Women’s Contact Society, Chief Willie Sellars, former MLA Donna Barnett, and Williams Lake and District Chamber of Commerce.
The City is also calling on harsher sentences along with the electronic monitor program. In a media release from Williams Lake City Council, which was released in February 2021, stated that applying electronic monitoring devices still provides offender reasonably limited freedom.
The release continued that the technology doesn’t compromise the safety of the public to the degree that releasing repeat offenders into the community without reasonable monitoring does.
Williams Lake City Council is still looking for support from the province and federal government to make real changes.