Clare Clancy

RCMP KARE team broadens mandate to prevent murders of at-risk individuals

RCMP Victim Services Program Coordinator Ashley Barnes (left) and RCMP Cpl. Kim Bradfield, analyst on the KARE Proactive team (right), at the RCMP K Division facility on Aug. 9, 2017. Photo by Larry Wong / Edmonton Journal

An RCMP team that emerged out of a 2003 task force dedicated to investigating the local murders of high-risk women has a new province-wide mandate targeting vulnerable individuals in rural areas.

"We'll work with anyone who's high risk," said Cpl. Kim Bradfield, analyst with the KARE Proactive team, operating under the RCMP K Division in Edmonton.

The unit — made up of three officers and two civilians who work in victim services — is the latest evolution of Project KARE, formed in response to a suspected serial killer after multiple women were slain in the Edmonton area. Later, the project altered its focus to include community education, with officers providing support to sex workers and registering them in a confidential database.

But 14 years after its launch, the newest iteration of KARE is even broader.

KARE Proactive's work — which came into effect within the last six months — will target individuals such as a teenager who runs away repeatedly from a group home, someone selling stolen property on Kijiji, or an online escort, explained Bradfield.

"(Sex workers) have gone to the backpage(.com)," she said. "That's the primary avenue where they would advertise for services."

For example, after making contact with a vulnerable woman online, Bradfield's team will gather information and refer her to resources, ranging from housing supports to resume building to creating an exit strategy.

"It's the opposite of a sting," Bradfield said. "We're trying to help people in remote areas and people who aren't connected as much."

Confidential registry

Almost everyone they reach out to voluntarily joins a growing registry that has been synonymous with Project KARE. The database, predominantly made up of at-risk women and girls, now includes more than 2,500 names.

The confidential registry includes questions about lifestyle and physical descriptions of registrants, including their tattoos and scars. Participants can also provide a DNA sample.

"The registry program is basically the worst-case scenario where someone who is high risk goes missing and is murdered and we need to identify their remains," Bradfield said.

The cold cases previously under the purview of Project KARE have been transferred to the historical investigations unit or missing persons unit.

"(Cases are) put into a holding pattern until new information comes in," explained RCMP spokesman Cpl. Hal Turnbull in an interview earlier this month.

The KARE Proactive unit as it currently exists doesn't conduct investigations or deliver enforcement. Team members work closely with the missing persons unit, unidentified human remains unit and victim services.

"Previously KARE mostly was focused on the street workers and prostitution," Bradfield said.

"The strategy for becoming proactive is to — provide education and resources to prevent (at-risk individuals) from going missing or being murdered."

'We need more publicity'

But the changes have meant that a website which previously included the number for a tip line to Project KARE is no longer in existence.

It's a frustrating development for Vivian (Tootsie) Tuccaro, whose daughter Amber Tuccaro, 20, went missing in 2010 and whose remains were found two years later. Her murderer has not been found.

"When people message me or call me, I do call (the police)," Tootsie Tuccaro said. "We need more publicity."

Bradfield explained the tip line number was removed from the website because too much information was being funnelled to one unit. Instead tips are now reported to local detachments.

"We need to come up with something (online) that is applicable to what we're doing today," she added.

The team serves a new purpose, providing resources to community members who may not know where to turn for help, whether their at-risk behaviour is related to gangs, drugs, sex work or anything else, Bradfield said.

"I think (a team like this) is essential, there's a lot of distrust with police because it's primarily been (about) investigating crimes. When we're talking to people, it's generally not their best day."

Educating families about the exploitation of children and youth online is another priority, she said.

"A lot of people think 'it's not happening in my back yard.' … It's happening everywhere."

Funding challenges

Ashley Barnes, victim services program coordinator on the team, said the goal is to prevent youth from engaging in high-risk behaviour to begin with. But there are limitations.

"We're non-profit so (funding) is the biggest challenge," she said.

For Bradfield, the most difficult barrier is distance, with the team responsible for an entire province. She said she plans to train officers in local detachments so they can recruit more people to the registry and offer better support.

"We're trying to get out to these remote areas to provide resources," she said. "We could do a lot more."