First Appearance Centre closed, new options to deal with traffic tickets
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LETHBRIDGE – The First Appearance Centre (FAC) for traffic tickets has been closed at the Lethbridge courthouse to make way for a new pilot project.
It used to be open for the public to meet with the Provincial Crown Prosecutor for automatic reductions on some traffic tickets, or to set a trial date. The centre stopped that service in early 2016, and it was finally closed on February 1, 2017.
According to a government media release, the Lethbridge courthouse hasn’t “noticed any measurable difference in the number of trials” since the centre’s service was ceased.
The new project will be on-going at the Lethbridge, Ponoka and Leduc courthouses until the impact on the justice system and motorists is better understood.
Those dealing with tickets now have the option to simply pay the fine, plead guilty and request time to pay, or plead not guilty and set a trial date.
