In recent weeks, much has been discussed and written in the media regarding society’s response to domestic violence.  The horrific murder of Sunny Park, her son Christian Lee and her parents, Moon Kyu Park and Cum Lea Chun by Peter Lee have cause many of the agencies and organizations that responded to that terrible scene on the 4th of September 2007 to review their procedures and policies in relation to the tragedy of family violence and its impact on those in society who are most deserving of our intervention and protection.

In an effort to accurately reflect Saanich Police’s continued commitment to the problems of relationship violence, the information contained below is provided to clarify our dedication of resources to this most serious of crimes.

The Saanich Police has employed a Family Counsellor for more than 25 years.  Counselling services are offered to anyone needing help where police have some level of involvement.  The officer will often make referrals to our counsellor after attending to a particular situation, or our counsellor will proactively approach people involved in a call that police attended. The most common event that prompts involvement from our Family Counsellor is conflict within a family.   This type of event is inclusive of emotional, mental, verbal, and physical conflict or abuse.

Our Family Counsellor is Corrina Craig.  She is a registered social worker and holds a Master’s Degree in Education.  Her wealth of experience and knowledge serves our community extremely well as she acts as a social worker, counsellor and advocate.  Additionally, Corrina is part of our Domestic Violence Review Team.  In this capacity, she carefully reviews each complaint of relationship violence to ensure that all necessary services and steps are taken to support and protect families. 

The Saanich Police Child Abuse Team was created 20 years ago and has been a highly effective model for other agencies to emulate, demonstrating best practices in investigating allegations of child abuse.  Our Child Abuse Team consisted of three specially trained officers under the supervision of a Sergeant responsible for both the Child Abuse Team and the Youth Section.  Investigations handled by these members often involved families in turmoil and always relied upon the coordinated efforts of multiple inter-disciplinary agencies.

For the past several years, we have had a Domestic Violence Review Team which acts as a further line of defence for people suffering in domestic violence situations.  This review team monitors all files generated within the department to confirm that all necessary steps are taken to address a particular problem.  The team delves deep into the file to assess risk and helps to ensure that nothing along the way is overlooked.

Recently we have re-aligned internal resources to move the umbrella of the Domestic Violence Review Team from the Uniform Division to the Detective Division.  The three investigators from the Child Abuse Team, along with a Sergeant in the Division, now form the Family Protection Unit.  This is a highly specialized and skilled team of investigators who tackle allegations of child abuse and domestic violence, along with evaluating situations that pose a continued risk or threat.  They work closely with other agencies, such as the Ministry for Children and Family Development, Probation, Corrections and Crown.  

From our first uniformed officer to attend a complaint of relationship violence, to our Family Counsellor and Family Protection Unit, the Saanich Police remain dedicated to providing the best possible service to our community.  Our approach to family violence has evolved over the years, as we have employed new practices and methods of investigation, with the intention of keeping Saanich, and its families, safe.  Our commitment to eradicating the terrible impacts of family violence remains unchanged.  The findings of the Coroners Inquest into the deaths of Christian Lee and his family recommend many changes in the manner which family violence is investigated and its impacts mitigated.  We support those recommendations as they relate to harmonization of effort and collaboration between the myriad of agencies who have responsibility to ensure the protection of our families, and encourage all other agencies who share this commitment to join us.