BILL 12 – 2003
POLICE AMENDMENT ACT, 2003

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

1 Section 40 (1) (a) of the Police Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 367, is amended by striking out "and" at the end of subparagraph (ii) (D), by adding ", and" at the end of subparagraph (iii) and by adding the following subparagraph:

(iv) evaluating compliance with section 68.1; .

2 The following section is added:

Requirement to use information management system

68.1 (1) In this section:

"information management system" means a system of software and hardware components and related technology that

(a) interact and operate to integrate reception, creation, collection, recording, filing, analysis, reporting, transmission, storing, sending, reproduction and dissemination of information and data within and between policing and law enforcement jurisdictions, and

(b) is approved by the minister under subsection (2);

"law enforcement service" means the following:

(a) the provincial police force;

(b) a municipal police department;

(c) any designated policing unit or designated law enforcement unit that is also designated by the minister as a law enforcement service for the purposes of this section.

(2) The minister may approve one or more information management systems for the purposes of this section.

(3) Subject to and in accordance with any regulation that may be made under section 74 (2) (v) or (x), a law enforcement service must implement, use, maintain, repair and upgrade an information management system approved by the minister.

(4) For the purposes of this section, the minister may set or adopt standards to be followed by law enforcement services

(a) respecting the manner, form, exchange and transfer of information and data in an information management system, and

(b) for the maintenance of security and information and data integrity of an information management system.

(5) A law enforcement service must comply with all standards set or adopted under subsection (4).

(6) Subject to the regulations, all costs incurred in the implementation, use, maintenance, repair and upgrading of a prescribed information management system by a law enforcement service or incurred in complying with the standards set or adopted under subsection (4) are

(a) the responsibility of

(i) the municipality, in the case of a municipal police department, and

(ii) the entity on behalf of which a designated policing unit or designated law enforcement unit is established under section 4.1 or 18.1, in the case of a designated policing unit or designated law enforcement unit, and

(b) a debt due to and recoverable by the government or one or more persons specified by the minister who provide software, hardware or any other service in relation to an information management system under this section.

3 Section 74 (2) is amended by adding the following paragraphs:

(v) respecting the implementation, use, maintenance, repair and upgrading of an information management system by a law enforcement service under section 68.1;

(w) prescribing fees that must be paid to the government or to persons specified by the minister who provide, software, hardware or any other service in relation to an information management system under section 68.1;

(x) providing for the phasing in of the operation of section 68.1 (3), or the phasing in of new or changed technology for an information management system under section 68.1, and the phasing in may be in relation to

(i) specified law enforcement services,

(ii) specified geographical areas of British Columbia, or

(iii) specified law enforcement services in specified geographical areas of British Columbia.