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w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 13 spearhead change and issue annual strategic plans) and include "sys- tem-wide key performance indicators" in the Council's March 2017 Strategic Plan. The Council's Summits, which invite members from across the justice system for dialogues on areas needing change, have been a means of encour- aging cross-platform communications and collaboration, he said. "I also recommend giving high prior- ity to funding a systems analyst for the use of the Supreme Court," he said, add- ing that funding was in place to assess the court's business processes and resourcing needs and that, without an analyst in place to guide decision-making, execut- ing changes may be frustrated. Cowper recommended senior justice system leaders actively partici- pate in increasing the public's under- standing of restorative justice and its broader use within the province. He recommended four years ago that restorative justice and diversion should be expanded and, while some expan- sion has occurred, it falls short of its potential. "Adding restorative justice to the mainstream will require the endorse- ment of senior leaders within the sys- tem," he said. He pointed to several initiatives that B.C. has in place: • Assignment court scheduling system in the province's seven highest- volume courthouses; • Enhanced Crown file ownership; • The Criminal Justice Branch has set out clear performance measures; • The B.C. Corrections Branch is working with CJB on an informa- tion system known as the Integrated Corrections Operations Network; • The Major Case Management Model has seen more roundtable discus- sions; • The CJB has partnered with the Court Services Branch to design and develop a Crown counsel electronic scheduling system that supports Crown file ownership. Cowper said in the report that the Legal Services Society extended duty counsel project was a good example of a pilot project that had proven to be an efficient system approach. The project involved getting duty counsel to indi- viduals sooner and the advisability of entering into plea bargaining where applicable for early resolution on cases or providing advice for summary cases. "LSS provided a rigorous business case for this project that included specific performance metrics and an analysis of costs and benefits," he said. The past years have shown a dra- matic change in the culture of the B.C. criminal justice system, Cowper wrote. But many of the changes are currently in mid-stream and need public accep- tance. "Enduring change will only be achieved through concrete results that are embraced by the public," he said. — JEAN SORENSEN \ AT L A N T I C \ C E N T R A L \ P R A I R I E S \ W E S T REGIONAL WRAP-UP Because business issues are legal issues. So if you want to get ahead in business, get the degree that gets you there faster. ONE YEAR – PART - TIME – NO THESIS FOR L AWYERS AND NON - LAWYERS law.utoronto.ca/ExecutiveLLM GPLLM Global Professional Master of Laws [Get a Master of Laws] ntitled-1 1 2015-02-25 8:38 AM

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