British Columbia
Oak Bay
The Oak Bay Police Department has an agreement with Saanich Police Department whereby the Saanich Police Department investigates any homicides that occur in Oak Bay.
The key objectives are for Saanich police to be responsible for the investigation and the cost of the investigation of any homicides that occur in Oak Bay. This is to provide certainty around costs/resources and ensure that those trained in homicide investigation perform homicide investigations.
Chief’s Office
Mark Fishermfisher@oakbaypolice.org
The level of involvement is cooperative as we developed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) together with Saanich (and a lawyer).
The initiative has been in place since 2009-2010.
This initiative was undertaken to provide cost containment on major investigations. It also allows Oak Bay to have investigators who are current with the required skill set and best practices performing homicide investigations. The challenge in a smaller detachment is keeping a person trained and keeping that person's skills sharp, as we don’t get many homicides. When they do occur, it can cost over a million dollars to perform an investigation. The initiative also provides predictability for the police board and municipal budget.
There were no significant start-up costs, just the annual cost of $80,000 for the MOU. This is a fixed cost per year, whether there are no homicides or multiple homicides.
The initiative was implemented by developing the agreement. The first agreement was for three or four years and it was just renewed.
The key outcomes of this initiative are the predictability of costs / cost containment of homicide investigations and the application of best practices in homicide investigations. The initiative did meet objectives as it provides certainty regarding costs, allowing for cost containment, it provides professional investigators, and, in the event of a homicide, Oak Bay still has adequate staff and resources to perform day-to-day policing in Oak Bay.
Yes
The key messages are the same as the objective—cost containment and professionalism in the investigation.
We found the initiative to be efficient and effective. It is meeting its objectives so we decided to renew the MOU for another term.
N/A
2013-08-01