(Lethbridge Police Service)

By Justin Goulet

Lethbridge Police Victim/Witness Services looking for new members

Nov 25, 2020 | 10:08 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge Police’s Victim/Witness Services Unit is looking to bolster its ranks.

The unit is a group of volunteers trained to assist victims of a crime or traumatic event through the criminal justice process.

That includes making sure they have the right supports they need in place, making sure they have access to any governmental assistance programs they might be eligible for, and just being there to lend a helping hand through a tough time.

Acting manager Catherine Pooley says they have 47 volunteers in total. Some are currently on leave, though, so their active roster stands at about 42 volunteers, along with three staff members.

However, Pooley said they are looking to add about 20 new volunteers.

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To help with the process, the service has launched a new recruitment video.

“I think it really takes a specific kind of person to be able to sit with someone in the midst of those really rough days and to be able to guide them through and to hear what their needs are, from the victim themselves,” Pooley told Lethbridge News Now.

“What we wanted to do was create a video that would allow people to visualize or imagine themselves in that role and we hoped that it would sort of connect with the right people to encourage them to volunteer, give them a more realistic idea of what it would feel like if they were volunteering for Victim Services.”

The video was produced by Gill Productions, in partnership with the Lethbridge Police Service.

“We’re just really proud of the way it came out. We feel like it really represents Victim Services quite well,” Pooley said.

She explained that anyone interested in volunteering should be willing to offer a two-year commitment to the program.

“It’s a very intense training process and we want to make sure all of our volunteers are really well equipped to deal with the needs of the victims – for both people, right, we want to make sure that the volunteers are confident and we want to make sure the victim’s needs are being met,” Pooley explained.

“We do look for a little bit of a commitment for time. Aside from that, they need to be willing to do a criminal record check, they need to be willing to do two shifts a month and they really just need to be ready to jump into the training and learn what they can so that they’re best poised to meet the victims as they arrive.”

This year’s training process will be a little bit different and split into two groups to allow for proper social distancing and the following of COVID-19 guidelines.

The pandemic has also changed up their operation’s a little bit.

Pooley said that typically, a volunteer would be on-call for 12 hours, twice a month.

“Now with COVID, we’re not actually attending the scene with victims. We’re doing all of our follow-up by phone, so currently what we’re doing is office shifts that last between two and five hours, depending on, sort of, the volume of calls and when it’s scheduled, twice a month,” she told LNN.

“The commitment is a little less right now than it would be in normal circumstances, but until we can safely get our volunteers back out there and safely meet the needs of victims, it will remain just in the office.”

Pooley added that she’s very proud of all the program’s volunteers.

“They give so much of themselves and just show up constantly for our victims out there. They’re amazing, really, that they give up their time that way and do such a good job for these folks.”

More details on the Lethbridge Police Victim/Witness Service Unit can be found through LPS’ website. The site includes a link to the volunteer application form.

Additionally, the recruitment video can be seen below.