SURREY – The Province is investing $3.3 million to build a new Surrey neighbourhood justice centre (NJC) that will bring justice services together in a single location. The centre will give Surrey Provincial Court more capacity to deal with criminal cases, Attorney General Wally Oppal recently announced.
“This project will benefit Surrey residents by making it easier and faster for them to solve legal problems,” said Oppal. “The centre will create 21 construction jobs at a time when our economy requires stimulation.”
The facility will provide a single point of access to legal information, advice, mediation and other services to help Surrey residents resolve family and civil justice problems. Some criminal justice services may be added, based on elements of the community court model.
The Surrey centre builds on the pilot Nanaimo Justice Access Centre. The NJC will relieve pressure on Surrey Provincial Court from family and civil justice matters, increasing the court’s capacity to deal with criminal cases.
“This new initiative will fit well with the efforts we have laid out in the City of Surrey’s crime reduction strategy,” said Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts. “This is an essential part of our innovative, problem-solving approach to addressing crime.”
Construction will begin at the Surrey courthouse by July 31 on a separate initiative to accommodate videoconferencing equipment. Videoconferencing will allow defence counsel to interview accused in detention centres and police detachments without having to travel to those facilities.
“The provincial government is committed to maintaining safe and secure communities and this move will reduce the need for accused and prisoners to be transported to the courthouse until their cases can be dealt with in court,” Oppal said. “Using videoconferencing equipment will give accused earlier access to counsel, so their cases can handled more quickly.”
The projects are part of an overall, three-year, $14-billion capital infrastructure program supported by the Province that will create up to 88,000 jobs and help build vital public infrastructure in every region of B.C.