WHEREAS the Provincial Police Based Victim Services Program provides valuable support and referral services to victims of crime and trauma in BC communities; AND WHEREAS the provincial government does not fully fund this program which is affecting the ability for community victim services programs to provide proper services to support our victims of crime: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM request the Province of British Columbia to provide adequate funding to support the Police Based Victim Services Program.
Ministry of Justice The Ministry of Justice has a funding formula in place to distribute available funding dollars for victim service programs throughout the province. The formula is based on population and was updated in fiscal year 200809, which resulted in an average funding increase of 22 percent per program. Police-based victim service programs are cost shared with local governments in communities that contribute to their policing costs. This cost-sharing approach recognizes the critical role that police-based victim service programs play in police and community response to crime and trauma, particularly around crisis response services. The Province provides over 70 million annually in funding for services to support victims of crime including 12 million for victim service programs, 16 million for violence against women programs, 12 for the Crime Victim Assistance Program and 32 million for transition house services.