2007 Annual Report British Columbia Coroners
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BC Coroners Service Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General Annual Report 2007 PSSG08-024 Posted: September 30, 2008 www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/coroners/ Copyright © 2008, Province of British Columbia. All rights reserved. This material is owned by the Government of British Columbia and protected by copyright law. It may not be reproduced or redistributed without the prior written permission of the Province of British Columbia. To request permission to reproduce all or part of this material, please complete the Copyright Permission Request Form at www.prov.gov.bc.ca/com/copy/req/ or call (250) 356-5055. Message from the Chief Coroner On behalf of the men and women of the British Columbia Coroners Service, I have the pleasure of presenting the 2007 Annual Report. This report represents the Service’s commitment to provide the public with information relevant to all aspects of our operation, in a timely manner. Our report has also been formatted in order to share our activities during the calendar year 2007, as well as the outcomes of those efforts, in a way that provides clear, usable information that goes beyond statistical numbers and comparators. 2007 was a significant year for the Coroners Service with the introduction of an updated and thoroughly modernized new Coroners Act, the implementation of our GPS/GIS location and tracking system, and the introduction of a revised organizational structure, among a list of other improvements. We remain committed to providing the very highest level of community safety and to maintaining the highest possible quality of life for all British Columbians. This report will also be posted to the BCCS website so that it will be conveniently available to everyone. We invite everyone to visit our website at www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/coroners/ and to provide us with their suggestions and comments in order to assist us in continuing to further improve our services to the public. Terry P. Smith (Chief Coroner of British Columbia) BC Coroners Service Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General • Annual Report 2007 i VISION Our communities and homes are safe places. MISSION STATEMENT Providing exceptional public service through independent, factual death investigation to improve community safety and quality of life. VALUES Integrity, Respect, Inclusiveness, Accountability, Quality Service, Healthy Work Environment ii BC Coroners Service Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General • Annual Report 2007 Table of Contents Message from the Chief Coroner ......................................................................................................i List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. iv List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ v Part 1: History of the British Columbia Coroners Service .........................................................1 Part 2: The BC Coroners Service in 2007 ......................................................................................3 A. Organization Highlights .........................................................................................................3 B. Organization Structure ............................................................................................................4 C. Function .....................................................................................................................................6 D. Coroner’s Investigations ...........................................................................................................7 E. A Day in the Life of a Vancouver Metro Coroner .................................................................8 F. Divisions/Units ........................................................................................................................10 G. Budget ......................................................................................................................................16 H. Research ..................................................................................................................................17 Part 3: Recommendations and Prevention ...................................................................................19 A. Recommendations ..................................................................................................................19 B. Coroner’s Recommendations .................................................................................................22 Selected Coroner Recommendation Case Summaries .....................................................23 C. Coroner’s Recommendations on Emerging Public Safety Issues ......................................35 D. Other Prevention Activities ..................................................................................................37 Part 4 Statistics ..................................................................................................................................39 A. General Statistics ....................................................................................................................39 B. Motor Vehicle Incidents .........................................................................................................42 C. Child Deaths ...........................................................................................................................43 D. Suicides ....................................................................................................................................45 BC Coroners Service Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General • Annual Report 2007 iii Table of Contents Part 5: Inquests ..................................................................................................................................47 A. The Inquest Process ...............................................................................................................47 B. Inquest Statistics .................................................................................................................... 50 C. 2007 Inquest Summaries ...................................................................................................... 52 Arrest: No lock-up .............................................................................................................. 52 Arrest: Lock-up ................................................................................................................... 61 Police Shooting .................................................................................................................... 70 Police Pursuit ....................................................................................................................... 72 Custody: Provincial Correctional Facility ......................................................................... 74 Child Deaths ........................................................................................................................ 75 Industrial .............................................................................................................................. 84 Other ..................................................................................................................................... 88 Appendix 1: Glossary ...................................................................................................................... 93 List of Tables Table 1. Summary of Forestry-Related Deaths (2007) ................................................................. 12 Table 2. Forestry-Related Deaths by Work Activity (2007) ......................................................... 12 Table 3. Number of Recommendations Distributed by Type and Year (2004-2007) ............... 20 Table 4. Number of Recommendations Distributed by Classification (2007) ........................... 20 Table 5. Number of Recommendations Distributed by Source (2007) ...................................... 20 Table 6. Recipients Receiving Fifteen or More Recommendations (2007) ................................. 21 Table 7. Response Rate to Action Recommendations (2007) ...................................................... 21 Table 8. Summary of Coroner’s Recommendations Made in 2007 ............................................. 22 Table 9. Total Number and Classification of Deaths Reported to the BCCS in 2007 .......................................................................................................... 39 Table 10. Death Rate for BCCS Regions (2007) ........................................................................... 40 Table 11. Classification of Deaths Reported to the BCCS by Region of Death (2007) ............................................................................................. 41 Table 12. Total Number of Deaths Reported to the BCCS by Region of Death (2002-2007) ................................................................................... 41 Table 13. Number of Motor Vehicle Incident Deaths by Gender (2002-2007) ................................................................................................... 42 iv BC Coroners Service Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General • Annual Report 2007 Table of Contents Table 14. Number of Motor Vehicle Incident Deaths by BCCS Region and Type (2007) ...............................................................................