Federal government funds island police unit to combat online child exploitation

The federal government has approved millions in funding for police units in British Columbia that combat online child exploitation, including one in the Capital Region.

Public Safety Canada has provided $3.5 million over the past three years to British Columbia Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) units.

Officers from Victoria, Oak Bay, Saanich and Central Saanich police formed an ICE unit for a six-month trial period beginning in 2021. The team, which continued to work together but no longer had a shared workspace after the trial period ended, recently received funding approval to re-establish itself as an integrated unit.

Central Saanich Deputy Police Chief Kevin Hackett said the funding will allow the regional team to protect children from predators who exploit and harm them.

“Our collaborative, coordinated and integrated approach proved successful in our previous pilot project and we are confident this new funding will help us build on those successes,” Hackett said in an Aug. 24 press release announcing the funding for several BC ICE units.

In a July letter, the local mayors noted to Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth that the CRD unit had conducted 36 ICE investigations between December 2023 and March of this year. His letter noted that the six-member CRD team has been awarded approximately $650,000 in annual funding for the next three fiscal years from the federal Contribution Program to Combat Serious and Organized Crime.

The province said reported incidents of online exploitation increased significantly during the pandemic and that trend has continued. BC ICE units opened more than 28,000 investigations into records involving child luring, grooming and sexual exploitation between 2020 and 2023.

“Child exploitation online happens every day, and as social media platforms continue to grow, we must ensure our children are protected from those who would harm them. That’s why we continue to work with the federal government to provide law enforcement with the necessary resources to support units tasked with the very difficult task of investigating these horrific crimes,” Farnworth said in the release.

The county added that the federal funding will allow municipal police departments to increase the training and capacity of officers conducting ICE investigations.