VicPD announces withdrawal from Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit

After 18 years, VicPD has announced their withdrawal from the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit (VIIMCU). 

This means that moving forward, VicPD will take over responsibility for homicide investigations within the City of Victoria and Township of Esquimalt. 

“This decision is the result of an ongoing review of several factors including crime rates, resource efficiencies, and internal development opportunities,” said VicPD in a media release. 

VIIMCU is a branch of the RCMP that was created in 2007 with the intention of combining resources through integration. 

The idea was that integration would lead to effective case management and enhance communication between the agencies to optimize major crime investigations.

VIIMCU handles the investigations for homicides and missing person cases where criminality is suspected in the jurisdictions they serve.

With VicPD leaving VIIMCU, the participating jurisdictions now include RCMP detachments on Vancouver Island, as well as the police departments in Central Saanich, Oak Bay and Saanich. 

After VicPD withdrew, VIIMCU Superintendent Bal Hansra released a statement on the decision. 

“Over the past 18 years, VIIMCU has built a reputation as an outstanding and highly respected investigative unit, demonstrating the strength and effectiveness of the integrated policing model,” said Hansra. 

“As VIIMCU continues to evolve, we support VicPD’s decision to resume responsibility for homicide investigations within its jurisdiction.”

Hansra added that VIIMCU will continue to work collaboratively with VicPD and their other partners to ensure a safe, seamless and successful transition.”

From this point onward, VicPD will be handling their own homicide investigations, and are the only police department in the region who will be independently investigating in that regard.