Alberta Crown Attorneys' Association

Withdrawing cases where the evidence is insufficient, or where prosecutions aren't in the public interest, is part of prosecutors' jobs. But, the increase in cases withdrawn in Edmonton is partly a symptom of strained resources: Prosecutors must prioritize serious cases and don't proceed on less serious matters in order to preserve their resources and the courts'.

ACAA Secretary Matthew Block is quoted in today's CBC story about stayed prosecutions in Calgary.

We're pleased to see the government funding duty counsel positions for first appearance bail hearings. Robust legal aid funding, including of duty counsel, is essential to our criminal justice system. This funding should result in more bail hearings being run at the first opportunity, to the benefit of accused persons' Charter rights, not to mention our overburdened courts and prosecutors.

Caseloads and salary freeze affect retention and recruitment of prosecutors across the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, but has been particularly noticeable in smaller regional prosecutions offices.

We are pleased to see action toward remedying the shortage of Alberta prosecutors; however, we expect it will be difficult to recruit/retain rural prosecutors given high caseloads and gov't freeze of salaries. Twenty prosecutors have left rural offices over last 12 months. #ableg #abpoli