Policing partnerships on rocky road
Times Colonist
March 29, 2015
Victoria and Saanich police departments are close to partnering on an integrated computer forensics unit and are considering sharing more services, such as canine teams, intelligence and cyber-crime units and the tracking of high-risk offenders.
But at the same time, the RCMP is moving its own Vancouver Island computer forensics unit on the Island to Mountie headquarters on the Lower Mainland, raising concerns that local files could become backlogged in a queue with major crimes in the rest of the province.
The moves leave some wondering why the Mounties don’t simply join Saanich and Victoria in a regional partnership.
One Saanich police officer currently works out of the three-person computer forensics unit at Island district RCMP headquarters in Victoria, but Saanich opted to look for a new partner after the Mounties announced the two RCMP positions would be moving to the Mainland.
VicPD already has a computer forensics lab, so Saanich police will purchase equipment and send that officer to work out of the Victoria lab.
“Criminals don’t respect borders — they move back and forth,” said Victoria Police Chief Frank Elsner. “We have bandits from Saanich who do their business here in the city and vice versa. It makes sense to share that information in real time, so all our people can work on it and it’s a lot more seamless.”
Computer forensics can be used to investigate a variety of crimes, including child pornography, financial offences, Internet scams or murders. Investigators trace computers’ unique Internet protocol addresses, recover deleted images or track a person’s Internet history.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Kevin Kult, who heads the B.C. RCMP’s Technical Crimes Unit, said shifting resources to the Lower Mainland will create a “centre of expertise” with all the tools and necessary experience in one location.
“Changes in technology mean a centralized digital forensics lab is the most effective solution,” he said.
Kult said there is no longer a need for highly trained analysts to be working in the field at satellite offices. The Technical Crimes Unit relies on officers trained in “digital computer field triage” to collect computers, mobile devices or video and send the devices back to the central lab for analysis. Officers are spread across the province, including in Greater Victoria, Kult said.
“During the transition phase, there will be no change in service delivery to front-line police clients,” he said.
But Kash Heed, former solicitor general and ex-chief of the West Vancouver police department, worries Island files could become backlogged if they’re competing for attention with high-profile cases on the Lower Mainland.
“They will go into a queue and a decision will be made by someone else,” he said.
Meanwhile, Heed says it’s contradictory for certain Greater Victoria police departments to remain staunchly against a single regional force for the sake of local autonomy, but at the same time centralize key services.
“One minute they’re saying we need to focus on local needs and the next minute they say we’re going to centralize into something like this,” Heed said. “So this policing [model] has no real vision, no real road map as to where they’re going.”
Saanich Police Chief Bob Downie said further integration with Victoria police has been on the table since he was a deputy in 2013.
“You look at the things that are resource intensive, require special equipment or high-intensity training,” Downie said. “You look at where there’s duplication.”
A major blow to integrated teams in Greater Victoria came when the highly successful Regional Crime Unit, which targets prolific offenders, disbanded last year, after dwindling participation from police departments.
The topic of a regional dog team has been floated for more than a decade but heated up last July when Victoria police decided it would not send its canine team to outside jurisdictions — with the exception of Saanich — unless it’s a matter of life and death. This was in response to a high volume of calls from West Shore RCMP, which call on help from Victoria police much more often than they reciprocate.
Saanich police now help the West Shore when one of the latter’s dog teams is unavailable.
The deputy chiefs of Victoria and Saanich are looking into the logistics of combining Victoria’s six canine officers with Saanich’s four canine officers.
“We don’t really know where that one’s going to go,” Downie said.
“We very much approve going to a regional approach, but we won’t do anything that will diminish the level of service to the residents of Saanich.”
The RCMP has not been involved in formal discussions regarding an integrated police service dog unit, said Island district RCMP spokesman Cpl. Darren Lagan, but is “open to considering any opportunity where integration makes sense for our communities.”
Victoria police also want to see more co-operation in intelligence-sharing and tracking high-risk offenders.
Heed shakes his head at the fact that only Victoria and Saanich police are working together on these initiatives, instead of creating a region-wide solution.
“Why do we continue using this Band-Aid approach? It does nothing to fix the gaping wound.”
But Elsner said Victoria and Saanich are only a starting point. “If the rest of the region wants it, they have to pony up.”
[email protected]
Times Colonist
March 29, 2015
Victoria and Saanich police departments are close to partnering on an integrated computer forensics unit and are considering sharing more services, such as canine teams, intelligence and cyber-crime units and the tracking of high-risk offenders.
But at the same time, the RCMP is moving its own Vancouver Island computer forensics unit on the Island to Mountie headquarters on the Lower Mainland, raising concerns that local files could become backlogged in a queue with major crimes in the rest of the province.
The moves leave some wondering why the Mounties don’t simply join Saanich and Victoria in a regional partnership.
One Saanich police officer currently works out of the three-person computer forensics unit at Island district RCMP headquarters in Victoria, but Saanich opted to look for a new partner after the Mounties announced the two RCMP positions would be moving to the Mainland.
VicPD already has a computer forensics lab, so Saanich police will purchase equipment and send that officer to work out of the Victoria lab.
“Criminals don’t respect borders — they move back and forth,” said Victoria Police Chief Frank Elsner. “We have bandits from Saanich who do their business here in the city and vice versa. It makes sense to share that information in real time, so all our people can work on it and it’s a lot more seamless.”
Computer forensics can be used to investigate a variety of crimes, including child pornography, financial offences, Internet scams or murders. Investigators trace computers’ unique Internet protocol addresses, recover deleted images or track a person’s Internet history.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Kevin Kult, who heads the B.C. RCMP’s Technical Crimes Unit, said shifting resources to the Lower Mainland will create a “centre of expertise” with all the tools and necessary experience in one location.
“Changes in technology mean a centralized digital forensics lab is the most effective solution,” he said.
Kult said there is no longer a need for highly trained analysts to be working in the field at satellite offices. The Technical Crimes Unit relies on officers trained in “digital computer field triage” to collect computers, mobile devices or video and send the devices back to the central lab for analysis. Officers are spread across the province, including in Greater Victoria, Kult said.
“During the transition phase, there will be no change in service delivery to front-line police clients,” he said.
But Kash Heed, former solicitor general and ex-chief of the West Vancouver police department, worries Island files could become backlogged if they’re competing for attention with high-profile cases on the Lower Mainland.
“They will go into a queue and a decision will be made by someone else,” he said.
Meanwhile, Heed says it’s contradictory for certain Greater Victoria police departments to remain staunchly against a single regional force for the sake of local autonomy, but at the same time centralize key services.
“One minute they’re saying we need to focus on local needs and the next minute they say we’re going to centralize into something like this,” Heed said. “So this policing [model] has no real vision, no real road map as to where they’re going.”
Saanich Police Chief Bob Downie said further integration with Victoria police has been on the table since he was a deputy in 2013.
“You look at the things that are resource intensive, require special equipment or high-intensity training,” Downie said. “You look at where there’s duplication.”
A major blow to integrated teams in Greater Victoria came when the highly successful Regional Crime Unit, which targets prolific offenders, disbanded last year, after dwindling participation from police departments.
The topic of a regional dog team has been floated for more than a decade but heated up last July when Victoria police decided it would not send its canine team to outside jurisdictions — with the exception of Saanich — unless it’s a matter of life and death. This was in response to a high volume of calls from West Shore RCMP, which call on help from Victoria police much more often than they reciprocate.
Saanich police now help the West Shore when one of the latter’s dog teams is unavailable.
The deputy chiefs of Victoria and Saanich are looking into the logistics of combining Victoria’s six canine officers with Saanich’s four canine officers.
“We don’t really know where that one’s going to go,” Downie said.
“We very much approve going to a regional approach, but we won’t do anything that will diminish the level of service to the residents of Saanich.”
The RCMP has not been involved in formal discussions regarding an integrated police service dog unit, said Island district RCMP spokesman Cpl. Darren Lagan, but is “open to considering any opportunity where integration makes sense for our communities.”
Victoria police also want to see more co-operation in intelligence-sharing and tracking high-risk offenders.
Heed shakes his head at the fact that only Victoria and Saanich police are working together on these initiatives, instead of creating a region-wide solution.
“Why do we continue using this Band-Aid approach? It does nothing to fix the gaping wound.”
But Elsner said Victoria and Saanich are only a starting point. “If the rest of the region wants it, they have to pony up.”
[email protected]