Vernon has become one of the first police detachments, outside the Lower Mainland, to have a specific unit investigating domestic violence cases. Constable Krysta Tanner is in charge of the new unit. She says her job is to prevent deaths and serious injuries. "I'll be reviewing all domestic violence related files to ensure a thorough and complete investigation has been done that meets both RCMP and Attorney General policy." Tanner will also be joining into investigations that are deemed high risk. "High risk could include anything from serious bodily harm to historic abuse involving repeat offenders and repeat victims." Inspector Steve McVarnock says Vernon has had its share of high profile cases. "We know what happened in 1996 in this community with the massacre of the Gakhal and Saran families where ten people lost their lives. We've also had several other high profile incidents over the past several years." However, McVarnock says Vernon's problem is no worse than other cities, even though there's been 544 cases this year. That's up 36 percent from the 400 from all of 2007. About a third of the cases involve physical violence.The Inspector says 85 percent of the victims are female, and 15 percent are males.
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