Chatham-Kent Police Services will receive $99,835 in the latest round of funding through the provincial government's Victim Support Grant (VSG) program.
Project Waypoint is a partnership between CK police and Linck (Child, Youth and Family Support – Children’s Aid Society). It's an effort to cross-train interviewers in evidence-based techniques to get accurate, reliable, consistent information from victims and witnesses.
The investment will also be used for awareness campaigns, and to ensure that police interviewing rooms are safe and comfortable for victims.
"Funding for evidence-based interviewing techniques is an investment in justice," Chatham-Kent-Leamington MPP Trevor Jones said. He added that "this will create a consistent approach for victims and witnesses to feel more comfortable in sharing their experience."
The money going to Project Waypoint comes from a $4 million investment for 2023-2024 that is supporting 45 projects across Ontario.
Of the 45 projects being funded, 19 will focus on intimate partner and domestic violence, five on human trafficking, three on child exploitation, and 18 that will focus on all three areas.
All municipal and First Nation police services as well as the Ontario Provincial Police are eligible to apply for funding through the VSG program.