The Vancouver police recommended the first wave of charges Monday against 60 suspected Stanley Cup rioters, more than four months since the largest crime spree in the history of B.C.
A total of 163 charges have been recommended to Crown counsel against the suspected rioters in an investigation Vancouver police Chief Jim Chu described as "daunting, time-consuming and exhaustive."
Although their names have not yet been released, among those with charges recommended against them, one is a Richmond resident, 21 are from Surrey and 12 from Vancouver.
"In the minds of many, today has been a long time coming, and I share those frustrations," said Chu at Vancouver Police Department headquarters.
"I wish there could have been a quicker and simpler way to bring the rioters into the courts."
Of the 60, a total of 50 men and 10 women face a primary charge of participating in a riot.
About 70 per cent of the first 60 suspects turned themselves in.
VPD Sgt. Dale Weidman, the lead investigator on the Integrated Riot Investigative Team, said of the first 60 suspected rioters, additional video-footage evidence has resulted in extra charges recommended against eight - and has corroborated crimes already detected for 37.
"This is just the start of it," Weidman said.
Crown spokesman Neil Mackenzie said a Crown Riot Prosecution Team has been put together to handle the case files - some of which near 500 pages, while all contain video and photographic evidence.
"I think, realistically, it's not unreasonable to expect we may see files in court by the end of November," Mackenzie said.
Police believe 500 to 700 suspected rioters will be charged for various offences in the coming months.
