Province launches unit to find missing persons
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/03/2023 (959 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Brandon police welcome a new province-wide strategy for investigating missing person cases as they continue to receive hundreds of reports of missing persons and runaways.
Brandon Police Service public information officer Sgt. Kirby Sararas said the force has had cases of people who were reported missing and last seen in Brandon turning up in another police agency’s jurisdiction. While police agencies work cooperatively, it can be tough for them to co-ordinate, she said.
“It does make it challenging, so this will help us,” Sararas said in an interview shortly after the province’s announcement of the initiative.
Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen and Families Minister Rochelle Squires announced the formation of the Manitoba Integrated Missing Persons Response unit in Winnipeg on Monday, an announcement attended by BPS Chief Wayne Balcaen.
The province will spend $2.1 million on the initiative, which it expects will reduce the number of missing adults and children accross the province. It will co-ordinate police and other agencies to respond to those who repeatedly go missing.
Under the plan, missing person reports from across the province would flow to Winnipeg Police Service specialized missing persons co-ordinators available around the clock. Co-ordinators will assess the risk, share information between police agencies and assign resources.
The government says the initiative is consistent with recommendations of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Manitoba RCMP’s commanding officer, Assistant Commissioner Rob Hill, said his jurisdiction launches missing person cases at a rate of more than 3,500 per year, while Goertzen said there were 9,315 missing person reports in Winnipeg alone last year.
“And all too often, these missing individuals are Indigenous women and girls,” Goertzen said. “Many end up living on the street for a variety of different reasons. Many are young people in the CFS system. Others are runaways, often from northern First Nations communities. And they remain on the street and vulnerable to violence, to exploitation and to abuse.”
Hill said northern youth are drawn or lured to larger centres, like Winnipeg and Brandon. In 2021, 63 per cent of children reported missing were runaway girls, Goertzen added.
In 2015, the Sun reported on the exploitation of runaway girls in this city, and many of the instances of runaways or youth reported missing involved kids in CFS care or in city group homes.
On Monday, Sararas said that in 2022, the BPS received 148 missing-person reports — many of which are resolved when the person is found quickly — and an additional 222 runaway reports.
» ihitchen@brandonsun.com