West Shore RCMP have created a new unit to deal with sexual offences, following a similar move by Saanich police.
John Ferguson, staff sergeant in charge of West Shore RCMP’s Serious Crimes Unit, said the special unit was needed to handle investigations that are often very complex.
“Often sexual offence investigations require a significant amount of time, making it difficult for frontline officers to investigate while responding to other calls for service.”
Called the Special Victims Unit, it’s made up of a corporal and two constables in plainclothes who report to Ferguson.
West Shore RCMP investigated 106 sexual offences in 2021, a number they believe has increased this year, although final numbers aren’t available yet.
That doesn’t include child pornography cases, which have almost doubled this year over 2021. They will continue to be covered by the Serious Crimes Unit, whose officers worked on 22 cases in 2021 and have already investigated 41 cases in 2022.
“Similar to sexual-assault investigations, reports of child pornography are very heavy on police resources, with officers having to obtain search warrants, conduct surveillance, as well as engage tech-crime specialists to examine digital data,” Ferguson said.
He pointed to a case that resulted in a West Shore man being sentenced in November to 18 months in jail for possession of child pornography, saying the investigation took two and a half years.
West Shore RCMP Cpl. Nancy Saggar said the fact that two local units have been formed recently focusing on sexual cases and specialized training for dealing with victims reflects recognition across Canada that trauma-informed policing needs to be implemented in every detachment. “So this is our answer to that.”
Creating the West Shore unit also recognizes that sexual offences require a different level of attention and different investigative techniques, Saggar said. “So, for example, for interviewing children, a general-duty investigator needs to receive training in that area.”
She said the officers in the new unit bring specialized knowledge as well as significant experience to their posts.
“They’re seasoned police officers who’ve been doing it for years.”
Saggar said other jurisdictions are also seeing increases in sexual-offence reports.
“We’ve spoken to other policing agencies, for example on the Lower Mainland or areas that match our size and call volume, and they’re seeing increases in the same areas.”
Developments in technology are a factor in the growing numbers, she said.
Saggar said West Shore officers have seen many cases where someone sends revealing photos to what they believe is a prospective intimate partner, who then tries to use the photos to extort money.
Historical sexual offences could also be part of the new unit’s duties, said Saggar, adding she once investigated a case that dated back to the 1980s.
“There’s no statute of limitations when it comes to reporting sexual offences,” Saggar said. “You can certainly come in and report something that happened to you when you were a child, even though you’re an adult now.”
