Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Vancouver (B.C.). Police Court
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
Under the 1886 Act of Incorporation, City Council was given authority to establish a Police Court and to appoint a Police Magistrate. The Police Magistrate was given the powers and authority of a Stipendiary Magistrate of the Province, which empowered him to rule on minor breaches of federal and provincial statutes, issue summonses and warrants, conduct release hearings and preliminary hearings for cases destined for higher courts. The Mayor, in addition to his powers as ex-officio Justice of the Peace, was given exclusive jurisdiction to try all cases relating to the bylaws of the city. In 1898 an amendment to the City Charter removed the Mayor's jurisdiction in these cases. The jurisdiction and powers of the Police Court remained relatively unchanged until 1962 when the Magistrates Act replaced the Police Court with a Magistrate's Court; the Police Magistrate and Deputy Magistrates became Magistrates. The former Police Magistrate was to be the administrator of the City Courts. The City was no longer required to provide office space for the Magistrates Court, this responsibility being taken over by the Provincial Government. In 1969, the Magistrate's Court became a Provincial Court of B.C., ending the City's administrative responsibility for the court.
Related Resources:
Board of Police Commissioners fonds; Police Department fonds.