Crime and the Criminal Courts in Vancouver and Surrey During COVID-19

In the first blog post of the new Bloom Law website, here's an update on what's happening in and around Vancouver and Surrey, BC with crime and punishment during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this blog article, we'll touch on local crime rates and how the criminal court system is currently operating.

Crime

With the current stay-at-home recommendations, most large cities in Canada have noticed a drop in residential break-ins, and increases in commercial break-ins and domestic violence. The same phenomenon is happening in Vancouver and Surrey.  

The problem is that many commercial premises have been staying empty or mostly empty. Now that we're moving into Phase 2 of the COVID-19 precautionary measures, more businesses are opening up. We would expect a drop in commercial crime to follow.

Criminal Courts

The criminal courts in Vancouver and Surrey are making every effort to hold hearings remotely, and many judges are working from home. The courts are expanding the types of cases they are hearing beyond the most urgent.

The court system is increasing its bandwidth and improving its audio and video capabilities as time goes on.

Family and child protection remain a high priority.

Lawyers

Lawyers are considered providers of an essential service, and they have been working continuously throughout the pandemic. All kinds of lawyers including criminal lawyers are meeting with clients remotely over the phone and with video conferencing and proceeding with legal work using phone, email, and video hearings.

We will keep you apprised of what's happening in the criminal courts in response to COVID-19, here, in our blog.

Michael Bloom is a very experienced criminal defence lawyer, who started his career as a Crown Prosecutor. If you have any questions about this article or would like to schedule a free consultation with Mr. Bloom, please call his office at (604) 603-5513 or Toll-Free at (877) 603-5513.