Cariboo-Chilcotin receives public safety funding boost

The Cariboo-Chilcotin Region will soon benefit from $2.8 million over two years to crack down on crime through a new Regional Community Safety Model that builds on work underway and promotes enhanced coordination of public safety resources.

Four key actions under the model include:

1. Establishing an RCMP Special Project Team to focus on specific crimes and prolific offenders that have the greatest impact on crime rates and public concern in the Region. The team will also have two dedicated officers focused on First Nations relationship building.

2. Deploying a regional co-ordinator based in Williams Lake to work closely with the RCMP Special Project Team, anti-gang units and others to improve communications and co-ordination between policing, provincial and community partners.

3. Developing a prevention and outreach (WRAP) program that will target at-risk or gang involved youth (aged 11-17) who are in need of several, often overlapping services – this will be modelled on the Surrey Wrap Program.

4. Creating a Tsilhqot’in community safety manager position to be developed in partnership with Tsilhqot’in National Government and to address specific First Nations public safety concerns.

These actions stem from discussions involving the Province, the City of Williams Lake, the RCMP, First Nations leaders and the local steering committee and complements work in progress through the Cariboo-Chilcotin Integrated Community Safety Initiative (ICSI) which was established in June 2016 to strengthen collaboration among justice, health and social service partners.

“Law enforcement can’t do it alone – the new Cariboo-Chilcotin Regional Community Safety Model works to address the root causes of crime by focusing on boots on the ground prevention, outreach, information sharing and better co-ordination of resources. We are already seeing progress and this new model will help create a framework for community safety planning in other regions of the province,” said Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Mike Morris.

According to Statistics Canada, in 2015 Williams Lake ranked seventh in violent crime severity among more than 300 Canadian municipalities with a population over 10,000, compared to 2014 where they ranked first.

(Files from Government of British Columbia)