Province wants to expand major crime unit to more Vancouver Island communities
B.C.’s public safety minister wants to hire more cops to investigate homicides and missing persons cases on Vancouver Island.
Minister Mike Farnworth hopes to expand the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit (VIIMCU), which he said focuses largely on south-Island crime. The VIIMCU website notes the unit serves other parts of Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and remote parts of B.C.’s coast.
“Local governments have identified that often when there’s a major crime, it can pose considerable impacts on them, not only in terms of the human resources required, but also in the costs,” Farnworth said in an interview with CTV News.
Homicide and missing persons investigations can be complex and lengthy, racking up costs for small, local police detachments, he said.
“An integrated model should help ensure the necessary resources are in place to investigate major crimes and bring closure and resolution to individuals, families and communities,” Campbell River Mayor Kermit Dahl said in a statement.
VIIMCU’s 35-person team includes staff from the RCMP, and Victoria, Saanich, Central Saanich and Oak Bay police departments. It has been investigating suspicious deaths and missing persons cases since 2007.
Victoria police Chief Del Manak is on board with adding more investigators to the VIIMCU team, as he said it doesn’t have the capacity for surveillance or forensic work.
“So it really falls upon the local police of jurisdiction… to resource these expertise areas,” he said.
Six VicPD officers are part of the unit.
“We would be interested in ensuring that our costs are not going to skyrocket,” Manak said.
Preliminary consultations with affected communities and police departments have begun, Farnworth said.
“We need to work with local governments in terms of what’s required, how to implement it (and) who’s going to participate,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau acknowledges charges in Nijjar killing, calls for commitment to democracy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Pastrnak scores winner, Bruins down Leafs 2-1 in overtime in Game 7
Sheldon Keefe told his players hockey history would remember them one way or another.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Princess Anne lays wreath at B.C. veteran's cemetery; receives 21-gun salute
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
Mystik Dan wins the 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in a three-horse photo finish
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.