Surrey- Local, provincial, and federal agencies are bringing together to help keep people safe from gun and gang violence. BC govt. is creating The Integrated Gang Homicide Team to fight organized crime and violence.
“Gang violence and organized crime impacts all of us, and we are co-ordinating with local, provincial and federal agencies to ensure we are taking the right steps to keep people safe and hold those responsible for gang-related activities accountable for their actions,” said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. “This is a top priority for our government. We are continuing to work alongside our policing partners to curb gang violence, and the development of this team is an important step forward in this collective responsibility.”
Building on the Province’s ongoing efforts to prioritize strong prevention, intervention, intelligence and enforcement initiatives, a new Integrated Gang Homicide Team (IGHT) is being created in the Lower Mainland.
The new team will prioritize complex gang-related homicide files in order to hold individuals accountable and disrupt gang activity in the Lower Mainland.
“For over 20 years, we have utilized an integrated policing approach, successfully investigating and prosecuting those responsible for the most egregious crimes, including members of organized crime groups who have, time and again, neglected public safety in furtherance of their own personal agendas,” said Supt. Mandeep Mooker, officer in charge of IHIT. “Now in 2024, as the gang landscape evolves, so must our approach to keeping Canadians safe.”
Since 2003, gang-related homicides in British Columbia have risen, climbing from 21% of B.C. homicides to 46% in 2023.
As of December 2023, IHIT reported 356 unsolved homicides. The establishment of the new Integrated Gang Homicide Team will strengthen investigative capabilities, enabling IHIT to redirect team members to focus on these cases.
Under the federal government’s Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence, the B.C. government has received $10.9 million from Public Safety Canada for the 2023-24 fiscal year. The funding will go toward anti-gang and crime initiatives throughout the province, including the Organized Crime Agency of BC, Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers, and the New Westminster Police Department’s Gang Suppression Unit.