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
DEVELOPING Defence rests without Donald Trump taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial
Donald Trump's lawyers rested their defence Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.
Passenger killed, 30 injured as Singapore Airlines flight hits severe turbulence
One passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI flight from London hit severe turbulence en route on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, officials and the airline said.
Feels like mid-30s in parts of Canada, while other areas expecting snow
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Canada's inflation cools to 3-year low of 2.7%, in boost for rate cut bets
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Nestle to sell $5 pizza, sandwiches in the U.S. for Wegovy, Ozempic users
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
What is BORG drinking, and why is it a dangerous trend? An expert explains
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
Independent stores and grocery alternatives see sales boost amid Loblaw boycott
As the month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores wears on, small independent food retailers and alternative grocery options say they're seeing a boost in traffic and sales.
London judge rejects Prince Harry's bid to add allegations against Rupert Murdoch in tabloid lawsuit
Prince Harry can't expand his privacy lawsuit against The Sun tabloid publisher to include allegations that Rupert Murdoch and some other executives were part of an effort to conceal and destroy evidence of unlawful information gathering, a London judge ruled Tuesday.