British Columbia Ambulance Service Resource Allocation Plan: An Analysis of Recent Changes to Call Codes

On October 29, 2013, the BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) implemented a change to their BC Ambulance Service Resource Allocation Plan (RAP) resulting in 74 incident codes being downgraded to Code 2 (routine) calls instead of their previous designation as Code 3 (lights and sirens) calls. BCEHS has asserted that the changes were made to … Read more

The Nature and Extent of Marihuana Possession in British Columbia

The illegal status of marihuana has been the subject of debate for decades.1 Quantitative accounts of the police response to marihuana possession offences using data from Statistics Canada are frequently quoted in the media, by advocate groups, political parties, policy makers, police, and by academics to support their positions. However, there is very little discussion … Read more

Canadian Fire Community of Practice

  This report is designed to contribute to the mission of the Canadian Safety and Security Program (CSSP) to enhance Canada’s emergency resilience infrastructure. The CSSP created the Centre for Security Science in 2006 to help coordinate Canada’s efforts to build and reinforce our public safety and security infrastructure. The Centre for Security Science has … Read more

Fires in the Basements of Single-Detached Residential Property

This report examines the fires that occurred in basements of British Columbia (BC) single-detached residential properties, reported to the BC Office of the Fire Commissioner (OFC) between October 20 2008 and October19 2013. The data included in this analysis was provided by 296 reporting agencies across the province, sampled from first nations band areas, non-municipal … Read more

Revisiting the Safety of Smart Meter Installations in British Columbia Analysis of Residential Structure Fires in BC between July 2010 and June 2013

In June of 2011, BC Hydro commenced implementation of its Smart Metering Program, which involved converting every residential property in BC from legacy metering to wireless technology smart meters. This Smart Metering Program involves replacing existing electrical meters that are now becoming obsolete, with a comprehensive wireless smart metering system. As of August 2013 an … Read more

Targeting Marihuana Growing Operations in British Columbia

Marihuana growing operations are an enduring crime and social problem for British Columbia. At the end of the 20th Century, the province had witnessed a surge in the number of marihuana growing operations coming to the attention of police forces. Growing in sophistication and increasingly moving indoors into residential neighbourhoods to avoid detection by law … Read more