Domestic violence education urged
Public Safety Minister Kash Heed
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Updated: December 18, 2009 5:21 PM
VICTORIA – Domestic violence is a major and often overlooked crime in B.C. society that should be addressed with an education campaign in schools and with the general public.
That's one of the key recommendations from a coroner's jury examining the circumstances around a horrific murder-suicide that rocked the upscale community of Oak Bay two years ago. The jury also calls for continued efforts to unify the patchwork of police services in the Greater Victoria region, and better screening of high-risk people before they are released on bail.
In the early morning hours of Sept. 4, 2007, Peter Lee forced his way into his family home and stabbed his estranged wife, her parents and their six-year-old son to death before killing himself. Lee was on bail at the time on other charges related to his marriage breakup and was under orders to stay away from his wife.
The coroner's inquest that wrapped up Friday heard that domestic violence incidents are the second largest category of criminal charges going to Crown prosecutors, behind impaired driving cases. Yet there is no comparable education program in B.C., where public service announcements regularly warn people about the dangers of drinking and driving.
Public Safety Minister Kash Heed says he will consider all the recommendations, including one that says there should be a regional or province-wide domestic violence team.
Heed said he could not estimate how long it would take to make changes in the capital region, where he has to deal with several small municipal police forces as well as two RCMP detachments.
Dedicated domestic violence teams have proven effective in Vancouver, New Westminster and Richmond, Heed said.
