surrey-courthouse-expansion-starts

Surrey courthouse opens with improved features

Friday, July 12, 2019

The renovated provincial courthouse in Surrey has officially opened with new courtrooms and other features to further support access to justice in the rapidly growing lower Fraser Valley.

The $33.5M courthouse expansion began in 2016. Three new courtrooms and two hearing rooms were added, including a high-security courtroom for special-situation trials and a high-volume courtroom for preliminary and bail hearings. New features, which are consistent with technology used by counsel and police, such as touch-screen monitors for advanced evidence presentation, are available in the new courtrooms.

“Our government is committed to providing a justice system that serves all British Columbians,” said Attorney General David Eby. “The Surrey Courthouse has one of the largest caseloads in the province, and this expansion project will help deliver a court system that is able to hear and resolve these cases in a timely manner.”

To boost building security, metal detectors and a walkthrough personal screener have been added to the courthouse’s redesigned front entrance. A ballistic glass wall in the high-security courtroom divides the public gallery from the main courtroom.

The expanded courthouse will house a new Justice Access Centre (JAC), which will provide comprehensive services designed to address family and civil non-family issues. The Surrey Courthouse has the highest number of family law applications in the province, leading to a significant demand for Family Justice Services and community resources. The variety of services offered by the JAC are well suited to meet the needs of the community.

Other new courtroom features include: enhanced video and audio feeds for the public and media to view evidence and courtroom proceedings from the public gallery and media room; videoconference equipment and audio recording systems that are highly integrated with the evidence presentation system; wheelchair-accessible witness boxes; and barrier-free environments for the hearing impaired.

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