Part One: Existing Policing Integration

We must always be open to exploring ways to improve policing, including the regional police force concept advanced recently by West Vancouver’s new Chief Constable, Kash Heed. Policing in this province is, of course, principally a municipal responsibility. However, due to the recent state of gang-related violence, the provincial government also must consider the alternatives.

The provincial government has already facilitated a high degree of integration between British Columbia’s independent police forces (2,160 police officers in 11 separate organizations) and the RCMP (2,982 municipal officers serving about 60 different communities) including such measures as:

• Hiring 900 more police officers on the streets of British Columbia – an almost 18 per cent increase over six years.
  
  
• Involving almost 600 officers (about one officer in eight) in integrated police units, helping to provide seamless law enforcement right across the province.
  
  
• Facilitating PRIME-BC, a province-wide integrated police database, with provincial funding of $32 million. Accessible from patrol cars, this computer system provides identification information, criminal records, investigation notes, and records of recent criminal acts to assist officers in the field.
  
  
• Returning all provincial traffic fine revenues to 71 municipalities to help fund policing and public safety, about $150 million over the past three years.
  
  
• Strongly encouraging use of E-Comm, the integrated police communications system in the Lower Mainland, so that police and other emergency response organizations can more easily share information.
  
  
• Investing heavily in the operation of the Justice Institute in New Westminster, a world-renowned college of police and security training, utilized by all police forces in the province to train to a common standard. This provincial post-secondary institute trains over 30,000 students annually.

1. The recently announced Violence Suppression Team (VST) which combats gang-related violence, with an authorized strength of 60 officers;
   
   
2. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) staffed with 104 officers from 16 municipalities;
   
   
3. The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) with 126 officers and support staff focused on organized crime;
   
   
4. The Integrated Gang Task Force (IGTF) which targets criminal gangs, particularly those involved in violent activity (72 officers, municipal and RCMP);
   
   
5. The RCMP Emergency Response Team (ERT) providing 24-hour coverage on the Lower Mainland with 72 officers and staff;
   
   
6. Project Evenhanded, a joint Vancouver Police/RCMP project enacted to investigate the disappearance of at least 65 sex trade workers in 15 years from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside;
   
   
7. The Integrated Sexual Predator Observation Team (ISPOT), a 16-member cross-municipality team which works with probation and parole officers to keep recently released sex offenders under surveillance;
   
   
8. The Integrated Internet Child Exploitation Team (IICE), an 11-person team investigating internet child pornography;
   
   
9. The Integrated Technological Crime Unit (ITCU), a 20-person team investigating computer crime, identity theft and money laundering;
   
   
10. The Integrated Illegal Gaming Enforcement Team (IIGET), staffed by Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch and RCMP – 40 members in total;
    
    
11. The Traffic Safety Initiative (TSI) which includes the Integrated Road Safety Unit (IRSU) with 123 officers and support staff, as well as the Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team (IMPACT);
    
    
12. Routine mutual backup of municipal police forces, such as contract services for the SWAT team from Vancouver to be deployed in West Vancouver when needed;

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