Whereas costs for providing police-based victim assistance service continues to escalate; And whereas the responsibility for providing victim services rests with the Victim Services and Crime Prevention Division of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General; And whereas the Province of BC continues to download additional responsibilities such as security checks and information technology without corresponding funding: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM advise the Province of BC, through the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, that local governments reject the additional responsibilities of security checks and information technology without the Ministrys commensurate funding to local governments to cover the cost of those additional responsibilities.
Ministry of Public Safety Solicitor General The Ministry of Public Safety Solicitor General 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 police strength. It was updated in fiscal year 200809 which resulted in an average funding increase of 22 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 has not changed its policy or approach regarding security checks and information technology. The Ministrys contracts require victim service programs to ensure criminal record checks are conducted for all employees, students and volunteers involved in the program. These items are included as program delivery or administration costs under the cost-sharing approach. There have been no additional changes to the Ministrys information technology requirements in many years. The Province provides over 70 million annually in funding for service to support victims of crime including 12.435 million for victim service programs, 16.511 million for violence against women programs, 12.343 for the Crime Victim Assistance Program and 32 million for transition house services.