Six courtrooms dedicated to virtual bail hearings have been established throughout the province
Five years after the pilot project’s launch, virtual bail hearings are boosting courts’ efficiency in British Columbia by reducing costs and boosting access to timely hearings in remote and northern communities.
The initiative has helped courts adjust to rising justice system demands, largely reducing transport requirements since accused parties can make video appearances from a police detachment or correctional centre. Throughout BC, 112 virtual bail video units are in operation in RCMP detachments and municipal police departments.
Six courtrooms dedicated to virtual bail hearings have been established throughout on Vancouver Island, in the Interior and in the North. The Lower Mainland has six hybrid courtrooms that cater to both video and in-person attendance.
According to the BC government, the hearings enhance scheduling flexibility, limits transportation-related delays, and facilitates management of rising demand in the justice system. Judges, court staff, and counsel can join proceedings across different jurisdictions in one day; moreover, the hearings aid in limiting trial disruptions in small communities.
Virtual bail also enables the system to effectively adjust to legislative reforms and rising case volumes. It complements the suite of expanded virtual options for BC Supreme Court civil and family cases and the virtual counter service.
“Virtual bail is changing how our courts operate. By allowing judges, lawyers and court staff to participate in hearings across multiple communities in a single day, we are reducing delays and making better use of resources,” said Niki Sharma, BC attorney-general, in a statement.
The pilot debuted in 2021 in the Provincial Court of British Columbia in the northern part of the province. It expanded on weekend and statutory holiday virtual bail hearings implemented in 2019.
The program was extended to the Fraser region in 2023. The BC Court Services Branch runs and maintains the technology used for the hearings.
Earlier this month, the BC Supreme Court expanded its associate judges chambers pilot project to New Westminster. Short applications with a time estimate of under 30 minutes were allowed to be heard in virtual chambers as of June 1, with the exception of the Vancouver registry. This followed the issuance of Practice Direction 72, Electronic Application Records (Associate Judges Chambers Pilot Project), and Practice Direction 73, Virtual Chambers (Associate Judges Chambers Pilot Project), which came into force on March 31.
