B.C. creates new 12-member RCMP unit to combat human trafficking

British ColumbiaThere were 43 incidents of human trafficking reported to police in B.C. in 2023, but Chief Supt. Elija Rain says statistics are “grossly underreported” and the numbers are expected to rise.RCMP say there were 43 incidents of human trafficking reported in 2023, but number is expected to rise CBC News · Posted: Jul 30, 2025 4:43 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours agoB.C.’s Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Nina Krieger announced a new RCMP unit to tackle human trafficking on Wednesday. (Nav Rahi/CBC)The B.C. government has announced it will fund a new police unit to investigate human trafficking crimes and expand support for victims.The 12-member counter-human-trafficking unit will include two teams, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Nina Krieger said at a news conference Wednesday.The education team will train officers throughout B.C. on how to identify and respond to human trafficking incidents, and how to differentiate between what is and isn’t human trafficking, Krieger said.She said people who engage in sex work by their own choice are not the targets of the province’s efforts.The investigative team will lead multi-jurisdictional operations throughout B.C.Chief Supt. Elija Rain, officer in charge of the B.C. RCMP major crime section, said human trafficking is difficult to detect and investigate.”The creation of the new B.C. RCMP counter-human-trafficking unit strengthens our ability to investigate these crimes, target traffickers through intelligence, education and investigative means,” Rain said at the news conference.There were 43 incidents of human trafficking reported to police in B.C. in 2023, but Rain said human trafficking is “hidden in plain sight” and added statistics are “grossly underreported.””We anticipate that, within a year, we’re going to see a significant rise in stats,” Rain said, and added the crimes hit “all four corners of this province.”Krieger said this work was previously done through a counter-exploitation unit with two officers.Funding for the new unit will come from the province’s $230-million allocation to the RCMP provincial police service to hire 256 members over three years in specialized units, such as major crimes, internet child exploitation and the B.C. Highway Patrol.With files from Sohrab Sandhu and Lauren Vanderdeen