LOVEPREET Brar, Surrey family liaison victim services manager, RCMP Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, is one of three community leaders who was recognized on Friday in downtown Vancouver for work supporting crime prevention and community safety, with a focus on transformative Indigenous-led approaches.
Two community organizations were also recognized at the 25th annual Community Safety and Crime Prevention Awards.
Brar’s citation reads: “Winner of the Services to Victims Award, Lovepreet Brar has shown outstanding leadership and dedication assisting crime victims’ families as the family liaison victim services manager of the RCMP’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT). IHIT provides support, liaison and co-ordination services for 28 RCMP-served communities and four municipal police-served communities in the Lower Mainland.
“Crown counsel, investigators, community support programs and families have praised Lovepreet for her work providing trauma-informed and empathic support to those in need.”
“These inspiring award recipients prove we can create a safer province by working together to prevent crime,” said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. “I congratulate them for their leadership, commitment and innovation, and I thank them for all they do in building safer communities.”
The awards acknowledge individuals, non-profit organizations, and justice and community partners for their work in advancing crime prevention, restorative justice, support for vulnerable people and other initiatives that keep British Columbia’s communities safer. These efforts support provincial initiatives in crime prevention, victim services and policing.
“These award recipients are our partners on the front lines of crime prevention and community safety, and they make a lasting impact on people’s lives,” said Grace Lore, Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity. “I am deeply appreciative of their outstanding work supporting some of our province’s most vulnerable people, including marginalized women and children who face violence.”
The Community Safety and Crime Prevention Awards were also presented to:
* Shawn Bayes, Vancouver, CEO, Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver
* Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness, Victoria
* Mary Brown, Heiltsuk Nation, program director, Heiltsuk Gvi’las Restorative Justice Program
* Sk’ai Zeh Yah Youth Centre, Prince George