Members of the Medicine Hat Police Commission received a presentation from the Family Crime Unit Wednesday. Highlights included the "invaluable" work by Facility Dogs Glory and Athena, as well 40 criminal charges laid throughout 2024.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
On Wednesday evening the Medicine Hat Police Commission received a presentation from the Medicine Hat Police Services Family Crime Unit, which is responsible for investigating allegations of serious or sexual assault against children, as well as providing victims support throughout the court process.
This includes conducting child forensic interviews for cases in Medicine Hat, as well as handling requests from the RCMP and other municipal agencies across Canada, as well in the U.S.
In early 2024 the service lost its embedded Child Family Service worker due to operational decisions within the Ministry and Child and Family Services. However, relationships built by the CFS worker over more than a decade have been vital to ensure police have access to information that can help prevent violence and abuse against children.
“We’re really lucky that way,” said Sgt. Darryl Hubich, who alongside Const. Jason Dola make up the Family Crime Unit, which has successfully investigated 81 files, conducted 62 child forensic interviews, and laid 40 criminal charges throughout 2024.
“I think we are about on par for that this year,” Hubick told the commission. “Our numbers, thankfully, they don’t seem to have many peaks and valleys, they’re fairly constant … The nice thing is we haven’t had any spikes recently.”
However, both officers admit the unit wouldn’t be as effective without the “invaluable” help of their furry partners, Facility Dogs Athena and Glory, who joined the force from Dog With Wings, an assistance dog training facility based in Edmonton. Both animals have received their Assistance Dogs International certification.
The commission learned the main role is to provide comfort for young victims.
“There’s nothing more powerful than speaking with a child, introducing yourself, saying what you do, who you are and then you bring the dog into the room and you just see that sense of calm come over the child,” said Dola, who handles Glory and is a former K9 officer who worked with two police dogs. “The impact is evident during the interviewing process.”
Glory and Athena support children throughout the entire process, which can become lengthy, including joining them in court if they have to testify.
“So they are reliving their trauma, the dogs are there, comforting them as they’re telling us. And again, it’s powerful when you see a child, they’re getting close to a disclosure and they lean in and start petting or playing with the ears of the dog … (the dogs) are supporting them the best way they can.”
The Family Crime Unit also works closely with the Sanare Child and Youth Advocacy Centre and its team of health-care and support workers to better co-ordinate investigations and support services by meeting on a weekly basis to prioritize needs of abused or neglected children.
Additionally, the Family Crime Unit handles significant elder abuse files, completes sex offender registration compliance files and sits on the Provincial Sexual Violence Police Advisory Committee.
