The B.C. Prosecution Service says the trend of decreasing reports to Crown counsel continues, with it's latest annual report.

Released Thursday (Sept. 19), it includes summaries and data about the work the B.C. Prosecution Service does, an overview of the criminal justice process and regional spotlights.

The trend of decreasing reports to Crown counsel continued, with the volume received in 2023/24 9.5 per cent below the average of the five fiscal-year periods since 2019/20. In total, there were 54,604 reports in the last year and a total of 56,948 accused persons named. Of those, 4.7 per cent were between the ages of 12 and 17 at the time of the offence. 

About 76 per cent of those reports resulted in approved charges. Four per cent were returned to the agency, two per cent received alternate measures and  18 per cent resulted in no charge. 

The prosecution service says the trend of decreasing reports to Crown counsel "began as a result of societal changes brought on by COVID-19, but has persisted through" the most recent year. The biggest changes over the last five years have been a decrease in reports to Crown counsel involving property crimes, but crimes against people have stayed stable. 

The majority of recommended charges, about 77 per cent, are assessed within 30 days, 66 per cent within 15 days, 45 per cent within three days and 39 per cent within a day. 

In the last two fiscal years, the number of active prosecution files have returned back to pre-pandemic levels after a significant jump in 2020/21 due to backlogs. 

There were a total of 41,042 concluded prosecutions in 2023/24, with 39,398 of those involving adults. In the last year, the majority of the cases, 55 per cent, resulted in guilty findings, followed by about 35 per cent of charges stayed.

In the report, acting assistant deputy attorney general Trevor Shaw said the report "reflects the considerable legacy" of former assistant deputy attorney general Peter Juk, who retired last March. He added that some of the prosecution services notable achievements in the last year included the Repeat Violent Offending intervention Initiative and bail program enhancements.