BC Prosecution Service
Last updated on February 7, 2025The BC Prosecution Service (BCPS) promotes public safety, justice, and respect for the rule of law by making principled charge assessment decisions and conducting fair and effective prosecutions and appeals.
In making prosecutorial decisions, the BCPS acts independently of police and government.
In addition, under the Crown Counsel Act, the BCPS:
- develops policies and procedures on the administration of criminal justice
- provides criminal law advice to government
- liaises with the media and the public on prosecution matters
- prepares victims for court and provides appropriate information about prosecutions and the criminal justice system
- carries out any other function or responsibility assigned to it by the Attorney General
Crown Counsel conduct prosecutions and appeals in every level of court: the Provincial Court of British Columbia, the British Columbia Supreme Court, the British Columbia Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada. When doing so, they are bound by the legal principles contained in the Criminal Code, as interpreted and applied by the courts of British Columbia and the Supreme Court of Canada. Crown Counsel’s decision making must also be informed by and consistent with the constitutional rights guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The BCPS has approximately 500 Crown Counsel and 410 professional staff and managers located in communities across the province. There are five regions which conduct most prosecution functions at the local level: the Northern, Interior, Fraser, Vancouver, and Vancouver Island-Powell River Regions. The Criminal Appeals and Special Prosecutions (CASP) section, which has a province-wide mandate, has offices in Vancouver and Victoria. Headquarters personnel are located in Victoria and Vancouver.
To learn more about the BC Prosecution Service, our strategic plan, annual report, policies, information sheets, and other resources are available on this website. You can also follow the BC Prosecution Service on Twitter @bcprosecution.
Criminal justice process
Prosecutions are conducted by the BCPS as one part of the overall criminal justice system that includes four (4) main phases:
Investigation
Police and other investigative agencies investigate possible offences. If they conclude charges are warranted, they will submit a Report to Crown Counsel (RCC) to the BC Prosecution Service for charge assessment. Crown Counsel do not conduct investigations.
As mandated by the Crown Counsel Act, Crown Counsel make prosecutorial decisions independent of any outside influence.
Charge Assessment
When Crown Counsel receive an RCC, they assess whether charges should be approved in accordance with the BCPS’s charge assessment standard. In discharging the charge assessment function, Crown Counsel must independently, objectively, and fairly measure all the available evidence against a two-part test:
- whether there is a substantial likelihood of conviction; and, if so,
- whether the public interest requires a prosecution.
This two-part test continues to apply throughout the prosecution.
Prosecution
If charges are approved an information is sworn at the court registry which sets out the charges against the accused and Crown Counsel conduct the prosecution. Throughout the course of a prosecution, Crown Counsel have an ongoing obligation to assess its viability and ensure that it continues to meet the BCPS charge assessment standard. If the charge assessment standard is no longer met, Crown Counsel must end the prosecution, usually by directing a stay of proceedings.
Charges may be stayed to facilitate a resolution of charges on the same or another file involving the same accused. Stays of proceedings in those cases still involve some other form of consequence for the accused, such as a peace bond, referral to an alternative measures program, or guilty plea to a different charge or a charge on a different file.
When an accused pleads guilty or is found guilty after a trial, a judge will impose a sentence that is appropriate to the circumstances of the offender in light of the degree of seriousness of the charge and in keeping with similar sentences for similar offenders and offences.
Appeals
The decision of the judge or jury is final, however, that decision might be appealed. An appeal is a formal request for a review of the decision on the basis that an error was made in some important aspect of the prosecution. The Crown or the accused can appeal a conviction, acquittal, or sentence.
Independence of Crown Counsel
Media Statements
January 24, 2025
BC Prosecution Service announces decision of Special Prosecutor
Victoria – On March 4, 2024, the BC Prosecution Service (BCPS) announced that John M. Gordon KC had been appointed as a Special Prosecutor involving an investigation being conducted by the Port Moody Police Department (PMPD) into allegations of campaign finance irregularities in West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager’s campaign for the municipal election held in October 2022.
January 23, 2025
No charges approved following use of force by Kamloops RCMP officer
Victoria – The BC Prosecution Service (BCPS) announced today that no charges have been approved against an officer with the Kamloops RCMP detachment involved in a collision with a suspect on a bicycle on December 3, 2021.
January 07, 2025
BC Prosecution Service announces appointment of a Special Prosecutor
Victoria – The BC Prosecution Service (BCPS) announced today that on December 9, 2024, Chris Johnson KC was appointed as a Special Prosecutor following an investigation by the Westshore RCMP into allegations of an offence on September 9, 2024, in Langford. One of the accused was recently determined to be related to a provincial court judge.
An independent prosecution service that people respect and trust.