British Columbia

In British Columbia, disclosure in most provincial criminal prosecutions is managed by the BC Prosecution Service. Police provide investigative material to Crown Counsel, who reviews it and provides relevant disclosure to the accused or defence counsel.

Under R. v. Stinchcombe, Crown Counsel must disclose relevant information within the Crown’s possession or control, whether it supports the prosecution or assists the defence, except privileged or legally protected material. This obligation continues throughout the prosecution. Under R. v. McNeil, police must notify Crown Counsel of serious misconduct involving officers where it relates to the investigation or could affect an officer’s credibility or reliability. Crown Counsel determines what must be disclosed; the defence is not automatically entitled to an officer’s complete employment or disciplinary history.

Disclosure is ordinarily requested from the prosecuting Crown office rather than directly from police. Procedures may differ when the prosecution is conducted by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.

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