The Prince George RCMP is getting its own domestic violence unit.
Funded by the province, the team will include a dedicated RCMP officer, a victim services worker and embedded provincial child protection worker.
It will be run in collaboration with the Elizabeth Fry Society.
“I struggled with the words when I said I was excited to be making this announcement” Society Executive Director Kathi Heim said “Because excitement isn’t the kind of word you use when you start talking about domestic violence.”
The Prince George RCMP says over the past five years, they have averaged 341 domestic violence files annually. This unit will be the ninth of its kind in BC, funded by the Province’s civil forfeiture program.
At the announcement, Minister of Public Safety Mike Morris spoke about being impacted by domestic violence during his childhood. Those memories came flooding back for him during RCMP training.
“That was a major hurdle for me to get over as a young 20 year old in training… having actors act out these very realistic domestic fights in front of us, and we would have to step in a deal with it.”
Domestic violence accounts for 21% of Prince George’s overall violent crime.