INSIDE: UFV going deep for study into sports concussions
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T H U R S D A Y
August 15, 2013
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E N T E R T A I N M E N T abbotsfordtimes.com
Sockeye numbers floundering Other species appear strong
CHRISTINA TOTH CToth@abbotsfordtimes.com
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SCAN FOR PHOTOS
hile other salmon species are returning in healthy numbers along B.C.’s coast, early summer run Fraser River sockeye levels are another story. Sockeye levels are so low this year that even test fisheries made to estimate returning numbers have been cut by half to allow as many adult fish as possible to make it to their spawning grounds. Less than half the forecasted numbers of sockeye, a 21 per cent lower water flow measured at Hope and record high water temperatures in the Fraser Canyon last week all combined to prompt the ban on sockeye salmon fishing. This affects commercial, sport and now First Nations fisheries. Historically, the 2013 cycle has had the second largest average return of the four Fraser River sockeye annual cycles, with an average return of 8.6 million fish. The Pacific Salmon Commission, a body that advises Canadian and U.S. federal governments on managing local fisheries, now reports that about two million sockeye may return. see SOCKEYE, page A4
– TIMES FILE PHOTO
Low sockeye numbers in the Fraser River should not interfere with sport fishing enthusiasts, who generally fish for the larger chinook species of salmon.
Police complaints take too long to process, says watchdog OPCC concerned as less than half of all investigations completed within required six-month period
ROCHELLE BAKER RBaker@abbotsfordtimes.com
T
he Abbotsford Police Department and other municipal forces are taking too long to complete complaint investigations, says the province’s police watchdog. The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner is concerned only 45 per cent of police complaint investigations are finished within the required six-month period of
180 days, according to a study by the Auditor General’s Office. Rollie Woods, deputy police complaint commissioner, said the OPCC will be pushing professional standards sections (PSS) in all 12 municipal police departments to wrap up complaint files in a more
timely fashion. “There’s usually a good reason for delays but it’s still unacceptable and we have to work to find a way to get these numbers down,” said Woods. The problem came to light in January after the Auditor General’s Office conducted an audit of police
complaint files from April 1, 2010 to August 31, 2012, said Woods. From April 2010 to March 2011, the APD needed a median of 237.5 days, almost two months longer than required, to conduct complaint investigations, according to the OPCC’s latest quarterly report.
Abbotsford Police had a total of 28 investigations and asked for 36 extensions from the OPCC. The median for all the police departments to finish complaint files in that same time frame was 213 days. Numbers improved in the 2011/12 time period, when APD took a median of 213 days for complaint cases. see COMPLAINTS, page A14
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