B.C.'s municipal police departments are getting a $3.5-million boost from the federal government to combat internet child exploitation – and it comes after more than 28,000 related investigations between 2020 and 2023 in the province.
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said in a news release Saturday (Aug. 24) that the federal government's program to combat serious and organized crime is providing the funding over the next three years to "bolster the efforts of municipal police departments in combating online child sexual exploitation."
The funding will be used for staffing, training and equipment to "strengthen investigation capabilities" for the Internet Child Exploitation unit.
"Online child exploitation happens every single day, and as social media platforms continue to grow, we must ensure our children are protected from those trying to hurt them. That's why we continue to work with the federal government to equip police with the necessary tools to support units tasked with the very difficult job of investigating these horrendous crimes," Farnworth said.
The release notes that until recently the Vancouver Police Department was the only independent municipal police department in the province with a dedicated Internet Child Exploitation unit. In 2021, five municipal departments in Greater Victoria began a pilot project to develop the integrated Capital Regional District Internet Child Exploitation team.
Many police departments in the province complete investigations, but don't have the resources solely dedicated to internet child-exploitation files.
The province says the funding will increase the capacity of the Vancouver and Greater Victoria teams, while also enabling all municipal police departments to increase capacity and training of officers.
It will "help support efforts to raise awareness, reduce stigma around reporting, and increase B.C. and Canada's ability to pursue and prosecute offenders."
The Public Safety Ministry says that reported incidents of online exploitation rose significantly during the COVID-19 health emergency, and has continued post-pandemic. The Internet Child Exploitation unit has noted a substantial increase in reports of exploitations, such as child luring, grooming, and sexual exploitation materials with more than 28,000 investigations opened between 2020 and 2023.
Most recently, Burnaby RCMP said a 19-year-old local man was facing 23 charges after a cross-country sextortion investigation involving teens in Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario.
In May, a 31-year-old man from the Langford area was charged in a joint B.C.-U.S. investigation where he was allegedly participating in child exploitation on a social media app.
In February, a man in Nigeria was charged in a financial sextortion that resulted in the death of a Surrey teen.
In January, Premier David Eby announced his government's plans to limit cellphone use in schools – which will begin this coming school year in September – following the news of a 12-year-old boy who died by suicide after falling victim to online sextortion.
