The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Family Services Minister Christine Melnick and Attorney General Gord Mackintosh have announced $4.5 million in funding for additional police and expanded domestic violence programming to protect the safety of Manitobans. "We are committed to working hard to help Manitobans feel safer no matter where they live," Melnick said. "Our efforts include providing more supports to help prevent violence and to bring abusers to justice." Melnick announced a provincewide program teaming police and front-line crisis workers. The program will be modelled on Winnipeg's Family Violence Intervention Team but will be tailored to the needs of individual communities as determined through intensive consultations with members of the communities. "The pilot project, which teamed up a police officer with a social worker to intervene in domestic situations, demonstrated the merits of this model," the minister said. "We need to use the successes of this program to take it beyond Winnipeg's borders and build on natural partnerships that are already in existence." The minister announced that the program, which will begin in Winnipeg and Brandon and be expanded later to other communities, will build on the initiatives of the seven-point action plan on domestic violence announced earlier this month. One of the key elements of that plan was the announcement of $40,000 in funding as well as the services of crown attorneys and victim support worker staff to support A Woman's Place, a one-stop clinic that makes lawyers, social workers and other support services available to victims of domestic violence. "The pairing of social workers and police to intervene in domestic violence situations will bring this model out into the community for people who might not seek the support of A Woman's Place," said Melnick. Mackintosh announced he will fast-track a deployment plan with Manitoba's police chiefs to deploy 40 police officers - up to 20 in Winnipeg and 20 additional police in rural and northern communities, as well as in urban centres such as Brandon. "Police officers who are on the front lines of fighting crime will work with us to deploy resources," the attorney general said. "We want to ensure the resources we will invest in new police will be used to provide the most benefit to Manitobans. "We will work with all police services to ensure these new resources and police units can be integrated with existing law enforcement personnel to ensure Manitobans are provided efficient, effective and professional law enforcement." 11/25/2004
