A man with a lengthy criminal record in British Columbia, Christopher Prokopchuk, has been spared an indefinite jail term as a dangerous offender by a judge. Despite Crown prosecutors pushing for an indeterminate sentence due to his history of robbery and parole violations, Justice Barbara Norrell ruled otherwise.
Prokopchuk’s criminal past, spanning 30 years, includes leaving fingerprints at crime scenes deliberately and waiting for law enforcement after committing offenses. While Crown lawyers argued for an indeterminate sentence for his attempted robbery in Surrey in 2021, Justice Norrell deemed him not fit for the dangerous offender designation.
Instead, the judge sentenced Prokopchuk to 5-and-1/2 years in prison, with a 10-year supervision order upon release. Norrell highlighted that his criminal behavior did not typically involve overt violent threats, indicating a potential for rehabilitation and control in the community.
Prokopchuk’s criminal history, starting at the age of 16 with theft and break-and-enters, continued with various offenses leading to multiple bank robberies. Despite the Crown proving a substantial risk of reoffending, the judge opted for a long-term offender designation rather than an indefinite jail term for Prokopchuk.