Winnipeg Police Service announced on Friday March 6, 2020 that they are pulling out of Project Devote, a joint task force with the RCMP set up to investigate cold cases related to exploited persons.
Officer involvement in the task force will be replaced by a new coordinated approach to investigating cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
The new model will see a coordination of resources from the Homicide Unit, the Counter Exploitation Unit, the Missing Persons Unit, and the Internet Child Exploitation Unit.
These units have been mandated to coordinate and rapidly transition investigations involving the exploitation of Indigenous women and girls, including missing persons investigations and homicide investigations.
“As a police service, we have to focus our efforts on working with the Indigenous community to ensure vulnerable Indigenous women and girls are not exploited in the first place,” said Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smyth.
The WPS is also adding a dedicated Family Liaison position who will help investigators communicate with MMIWG families and their respective communities.
Police say that this a approach will give them the ability for greater flexibility and scope to work with the indigenous community and the Winnipeg Outreach Network, an organization that provides services to Indigenous women and youth.
Police say that they will continue to liaise with RCMP investigators assigned to Project Devote and will work with them to share any new information that may emerge in the future.
© News4.ca 2020
