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
'A step forward': New screening criteria for sperm donors takes effect
Canadians looking to grow their families with the assistance of sperm or egg donations should soon have more options for donors as the federal health agency does away with longstanding restrictions criticized as discriminatory.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
'Summer of discontent': Federal unions vow to fight new 3-day a week office mandate
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10,000 Zantac lawsuits in U.S.: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Watch fighter jet pilots pummel fake enemy ship off coast of Philippines
The United States and Philippines held annual joint-training drills just off the Southeast Asian nation’s western coast on Wednesday. Military forces sunk a 'mock' enemy warship – the BRP Lake Caliraya, which was a decommissioned tanker made in China.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his head more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
'Ozempic babies': Reports of surprise pregnancies raise new questions about weight loss drugs
Numerous women have shared stories of 'Ozempic babies' on social media. But the joy some experience in discovering pregnancies may come with anxiety about the unknowns.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs to start for Canucks in Game 1 vs. Oilers
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Canucks as Vancouver kicks off a second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.