The suspension of two Island Mounties seconded to the Regional Crime Unit means the team targeting Greater Victoria’s most prolific offenders is working with just six officers.
The two RCMP officers, whose names have not been released, were suspended pending a criminal investigation by Victoria police. Both officers are under investigation for allegedly trying to circumvent a court-ordered paternity test so that one officer could duck responsibility as the father of a woman’s baby.
Sources told the Times Colonist one of the Mounties was having an affair with a woman who became pregnant. When she told the Mountie she was pregnant, he denied the baby was his.
A court ordered a DNA test to prove paternity. Instead of taking the test himself, the officer allegedly had a fellow officer in the Regional Crime Unit to take the test for him.
E Division RCMP confirmed the two officers — one was stationed at West Shore RCMP before the secondment — are suspended with pay pending the criminal investigation and an internal code of conduct investigation.
That creates two vacancies on the Regional Crime Unit, leaving just half a dozen officers to carry out covert surveillance on the region’s repeat offenders. The team is now made up of three officers from Saanich police, one from Oak Bay police and two Mounties.
Saanich police Staff Sgt. Steve Morgan, who heads the unit, said they’ve been partnering with other police departments such as Victoria police to handle more complex, work-intensive investigations. He said a project with Victoria police’s crime-reduction unit has been quite successful in nabbing property criminals.
“We’ve changed the way we’ve gone about attacking crime throughout the region,” Morgan said Friday, adding that covert surveillance is done in smaller teams and there’s more focus on investigative work.
Morgan took over the regional team this month and was not leading it when the alleged misconduct took place. He said he’s been told the RCMP is working to fill the vacancies but hasn’t been told when they will be filled.
“With respect to the RCMP positions, I can tell you we are aware of the importance our contribution represents to the unit and their continued success and the process is already actively underway to replace the two members,” said Sgt. Rob Vermeulen, senior media officer for E Division RCMP. “We expect that suitable candidates will be identified in the very near future.”
The unit was created in 2008 as a collaborative effort between the region’s police departments to target criminals through cross-border investigations and surveillance. It started with 15 officers but took a blow when Victoria police pulled out in October 2009, withdrawing four officers and $500,000 because of budget constraints.
Last year, Sidney, North Saanich and Central Saanich withdrew from the unit, saying they were paying too much and seeing little benefit.
It’s unclear how long the two positions have been vacant, as neither RCMP nor Victoria police would say when misconduct allegations surfaced.
A Victoria family lawyer said possible criminal charges for faking a paternity test could include breach of a court order, fraud or conspiracy to commit fraud.
As with any suspension, the officers’ badges, firearms and police identification have been seized.
