British Columbia Coroner's Service

Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General BC Coroners Service 20062006 ANNUALANNUAL REPORTREPORT VISIONVISION our communities and homes are safesafe places. MISSIONMISSION providing exceptional public service through independent, factual death investigation to improveimprove community safety and quality of life. VVALUESALUES integrity, respect, inclusiveness, accountability, quality service, healthy work environment. MessageMessage frfromom thethe CHIEFCHIEF CORONERCORONER I am pleased to present our Annual Report for 2006. You will note that the format of this report has changed significantly from previous annual reports. It is our hope that this new format will provide more thorough, transparent, and easily understood explanations of our activities, the deaths we investigate, and the results achieved through our efforts. We have included an extensive presentation of statistical data, analysis of that data, and representative examples of case investigations and their outcomes. Additionally, we have provided a historical overview of the British Columbia Coroners Service (BCCS), our current organizational structure, and an explanation of the functions of the various units. The year 2006 was a particularly significant year for the BCCS. It was a year of change and building for the future. The BCCS undertook a major structural change; I created a five-person executive, which reports directly to me and assumes responsibility for five areas, Operations, Medical, Legal, Child Death Review, and Corporate Services. Also, specialized investigative units in Child Death, Identification and Disaster Response, and the Resource Industry were established to support front-line coroners. Work has been underway for several years to develop a new database for storing and managing all BCCS case information, which was implemented this year. Additional modules for this database, including an electronic reporting capability, followed in 2007. The completion of these steps in 2006 formed the foundation for even more advancements that will be detailed in our 2007 Annual Report. A brief comment on the timing of the release of our annual reports is also in order. Historically, the BCCS has released its reports well over a year after the close of the year being reported upon, the rationale being that statistical data was not finalized until after the close of a calendar year as we awaited the final autopsy, toxicology and investigational results from often lengthy investigations. While preliminary indications provide an initial picture of the circumstances of the death, data was not finalized and presented until the completion of an investigation. However, upon reflection we believe that it is equally important for us to produce reports that provide clear information and transparency through the provision of timely information. Consequently, as of 2007 we will provide our annual reports as close as possible to March 31 of the following calendar year. As 2006 was a transitional year, this report has been released early in 2008. The statistical data contained within the reports will be provided along with a footnote indicating the preliminary nature of that data and noting the tendency for this information to change over time. The staff of the BCCS continues to commit themselves to improving the work they do, including developing and sharing of prevention strategies, in order to meet the present and future demands and challenges of improving community safety and maintaining a high quality of life for all British Columbians. Terry P. Smith Chief Coroner of British Columbia Note: In 2007 significant changes were made to BCCS policy and the Coroners Act. These changes will be reflected in the BC Coroners Service Annual Report (2007). Copyright © 2007, 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 http://www.prov.gov.bc.ca/com/copy/req/ or call (250) 356-5055. Table of Contents PART 1: Historical Background . .1 PART 2: The BC Coroner System . .5 A. Organizational Structure . .6 B. Function . .7 C. Budget . .11 D. Research & Prevention . .12 E. Child Death Review . .19 PART 3: STATISTICS . .21 A. General Statistics . .21 B. Accidental Deaths: An Overview . .23 C. Motor Vehicle Incident (MVI) Deaths . .24 D. Child Deaths Reported to the BCCS . .28 E. Suicide Deaths . .30 F. Illicit Drug Deaths . .31 PART 4: INQUESTS . .33 A. Inquest Process . .33 B. Inquest Statistics . .35 C. 2006 Inquest Summaries . .36 Glossary . .77 TABLES Table 1. Forestry-Related Deaths by Year (2002-2006) . .11 Table 2. Number of Recommendations by Type and Year (2004-2006) . .13 Table 3. Number of Recommendations by Classification of Death (2006) . .13 Table 4. Number of Recommendations by Source (2006) . .13 Table 5. Response Rate to Action Recommendations (2006) . .13 Table 6. Recipients Receiving Five or More Recommendations-Action or Information (2006) . .13 Table 7. Total number of deaths reported to the BCCS in 2006 . .21 Table 8. Total Number of Deaths Reported to the BCCS by Region of Death (2006) . .22 Table 9. Death Rate for BCCS Regions (2006) . .22 Table 10. Accidental Deaths by Recreational Activity (2006) . .23 Table 11. Accidental Deaths by Occupational . .23 Table 12. Accidental Deaths by Other Activity (2006) . .23 Table 13. Number of MVI Deaths . .24 Table 14. Motor Vehicle Incident Deaths by Region . .24 Table 15. Number of Motor Vehicle Incident Deaths by Gender (2006) . .24 Table 16. Number (% of all MVIs) of Alcohol/Drug-Related Motor Vehicle Incident Deaths (2006) . .26 Table 17. Number of Motorcycle Fatalities by Region and Year (2000-2006) . .27 Table 18. Number of Licensed Motorcycle Riders and Fatality Rates by Year (2000-2004) . .27 Table 19. Number of Motorcycle Deaths in which Alcohol and/or Drugs were Involved . .27 Table 20. Number of Child Deaths by Classification of Death (2002-2006) . .28 Table 21. Number of Child Deaths by Gender (2006) . .29 Table 22. Number of Child Deaths by BCCS Region (2006) . .29 Table 23. Number of Child Deaths by Type of Accidental Death (2002-2006) . .29 Table 24. Number of Child Deaths by Motor Vehicle Incident Position (2006) . .29 Table 25. Number of Child Deaths by Ethnicity . .29 Table 26. Number and Rate (per 100,000 population) of Suicide Deaths by Year (1987-2006) . .30 Table 27. Number of Suicide Deaths by Type (2006) . .30 Table 28. Number of Suicide Deaths by Ethnicity (2006) . .30 Table 29. Number of Suicide Deaths by Gender (2006) . .30 Table 30. Number of Illicit Drug Deaths by Year . .31 Table 31. Number of Illicit Drug Deaths by Region (2006) . .31 Table 32. Number of Illicit Drug Deaths by Gender (2006) . .31 Table 33. Number of Inquest and Deaths at Inquest by Year (2002-2006) . .35 Table 34. Number of Deaths at Inquest by Classification of Death (2002-2006) . .35 Table 35. Number of Deaths at Inquest by Gender (2002-2006) . .35 Table 36. Cause of Death for Inquest Deaths . .35 Table 37. Type of Death and Totals for Inquest Deaths (2006) . .36 FIGURES Figure 1. BCCS Geographical Regional breakdown of the province. .5 Figure 2. The structural organization of the BCCS, and relationship with the Ministry of Public Safety . .6 and Solicitor General. The Executive Directors of the BCCS are indicated in bold capital . .11 letters, beginning with the Chief Coroner. Figure 3. Forestry-related deaths by year (2002-2006) . .11 Figure 4. Budget expenditure for the BCCS for the 2006/2007 fiscal year . .11 Figure 5. Number of deaths reported to the BCCS by year (2002-2006) . .22 Figure 6. Motor Vehicle Incident Deaths by Age Group (2006) . .25 Figure 7. Number of Motor Vehicle Incident Deaths by Month (2006) . .25 Figure 8. Number of Child Deaths by Year (1996-2006) . .28 Figure 9. Suicide Rate (per 100,00 population) by Age Group . .30 Figure 10. Number of Illicit Drug Deaths by Year (1990-2006) . .31 Figure 11. Number (%) of Illicit Drug Deaths by Classification of Death (2006) . .32 Figure 12. Number of Illicit Drug Deaths by Age Group (2006) . .32 P P ART ART 1: 1: Historical Background PART 1: Historical Background Historical Background The Office of the Coroner is one of the oldest common law institutions, with references dating as far back as the time of Saxon King Alfred in 925 A.D. The first detailed statute concerning coroners was the Statute of Westminster of 1275. Formerly, the coroner was a protector of Crown revenue, responsible for bringing suspects to trial. The coroner was known as a "Keeper of the pleas of the Crown" or "Crowner" from which the term "coroner" evolved. Coroners have been investigating death in British Columbia for over 100 years. B.C. inherited the English Coroners Act (of 1848) when it became a province in 1871. Coroners conducted their work independently through their own municipalities, as there was no provincial organization. In 1932, the City of Vancouver built the first "Coroner's Court" building. The building contained a court room, where coroner's inquests were held, a morgue and autopsy facilities. The building was also shared with the City Analyst's Laboratory. The analysts performed toxicological analysis for the Coroners Department (of Vancouver). Coroners worked independently until the appointment of a Supervisory Coroner, Glen McDonald, who served in this capacity from 1969 to 1979. The first BC Coroners Act was enacted into law in 1979. At this time, the Vancouver Coroners Department/Office came under the authority of the province and was declared a provincial service. The first Chief Coroner, Dr. William McArthur, was appointed in 1979. In 1980, the Vancouver Coroners Department was moved from the Coroner's Court building into a provincial coroners service building.

Load more