Alberta announces $4.5M in new funding for victims of crime
Police-based victim service units in Calgary and Edmonton will receive increased support through funding announced by the Alberta government Friday.
Justice Minister and Solicitor General Kathleen Ganley said an additional $4.5 million is being made available from Alberta’s Victims of Crime Fund to support victims of crime in five areas.
The increase will be directed to police-based victim services units in seven municipalities, support for domestic violence survivors, help for victims in court, restorative justice initiatives and expanding outreach services for Indigenous victims.
In Calgary and Edmonton, victim services units will see an increase in funding from $300,000 to $500,000 each in 2018-2019, and to $600,000 for the next three fiscal years.
In Red Deer, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, funding for those services will double from $150,000 to $300,000.
Ganley said she has heard accounts of “the important and difficult work that staff and volunteers with these organizations do day in and day out, and how they ’re struggling to work within the current funding cap.”
‘THE VITAL LINK’
Supt. Darren Leggatt with the Calgary Police Service said victim assistance teams are “the vital link” between victims of crime and the supports that can help them.
“Behind every crime, there are real people who need more than just justice — people who have lost their sense of security, dignity, who face real hardships and whose lives may never be the same as a result of crime,” Leggatt said.
“If we do not properly care for these people and restore as much of what was lost as possible, then we have not truly done our jobs in the community.”
Alf Rudd, president of the Alberta Police Based Victim Services Association, said the additional funding will allow units to hire more staff and enhance their services.
Rudd said services offered to victims include help navigating the court process, such as the right to file a victim impact statement, and referrals to other services, such as counselling.
“We work with the victim to do court preparation, court orientation, to try to work with them to get through that process of the court system, which can be quite traumatic if you haven’t been in court before,” he said.
Most units are comprised of both paid employees and volunteers, Rudd said.