The East Algoma Ontario Provincial Police has welcomed a Victim Specialist at the Elliot Lake detachment.
Constable Phil Young says the OPP Victim-Centred Approach Team, commonly called VCAT, aims to implement the building blocks of the framework by engaging with members, community partners, and victim support organizations to help victims of crime.
To that end, he says victim specialist, Julia Manuel has been hired to fill the position.
He says she began her career in child welfare as a front-line child protection worker a couple of decades ago, then with the Ministry of Attorney General as a Victim Witness Services worker.
Hailing from Waterloo, she was also the coordinator of the Family Violence Project, the Director of the Waterloo Region Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Treatment Centre, and now the Victim Specialist Program in Elliot Lake.
Young says if a victim/survivor indicates they need support, she will aid throughout the investigative process.