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The UCCM Anishnaabe Police is seeking permanent funding to continue its Lighting the Fire Within program, which aims to address intimate partner violence in the six First Nations on Manitoulin Island and surrounding area it covers.
“[The] initiative was designed to equip law enforcement with the tools and knowledge needed to better serve communities by integrating cultural teachings, trauma-informed practices and strategic partnerships that enhance safety,” said Taylor Sayers, director of corporate services for the Indigenous police force.
Police Chief James Killeen said the five-year initiative, launched in 2018, focused on establishing early intervention protocols to address domestic situations.
Using statistics on domestic violence calls, Killeen explained that police concentrated on addressing non-criminal matters to develop potential solutions before conflicts escalate into criminal incidents.
Community approach
Killeen said the program offers people with substance abuse and anger issues counselling to “deal with those issues before they turn into something bigger.”
“They would be going and taking anger management. They would take culturally based and trauma-informed training to help them with the issues that they’re experiencing within their relationship that are probably part of the root cause of why they’re getting into these arguments and why it’s escalating.”
Killeen said this strategy fits the general approach of First Nation policing, which is centred on community, whereas municipal, provincial and federal policing is “very reactive.”
“If you’re doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, it’s not going to happen without some significant changes,” he said, adding officers have to gain the trust of the communities they’re working in.
The goal of the project is to reduce domestic violence rates through training, education and direct support programs to create lasting change in policing.
“There have been some absolutely tragic and horrific issues and incidents that have happened in the Sudbury area as well as in Ontario, just in the last couple of years, that have ended in complete tragedy, and we’re trying to prevent those from happening within our community,” Killeen said.
After several high-profile incidents, including a murder-suicide in Sault Ste. Marie in 2023 involving three children and two adults, numerous communities across Ontario, including Sudbury, declared intimate partner violence an epidemic.
Despite calls from the Ontario NDP and support from several municipalities, the province has yet to officially declare domestic violence an epidemic.
‘We want to keep a good thing going’
Killeen will be in Toronto on Friday, when the culmination of the project is being marked by a conference. The event brings together other First Nation police services, as well as municipal and provincial police, to share the outcomes of the initiative.
He hopes the program will continue through a permanent funding agreement with the federal and provincial governments.
“We want to keep a good thing going, and we know that this has had positive impacts, not just within our community, but within our own police service, and we want to see that success continue,” Killeen said.
If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. If you’re affected by family or intimate partner violence, you can look for help through crisis lines and local support services.
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