Renewed push for involuntary care after horrific Vancouver attacks

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The family of a young Victoria woman who was murdered by two teenage “psychopaths” over a decade ago says the violent stranger attacks in Vancouver this week prove the need for new laws.

Brendan Colin McBride, 34, has been charged with murder and aggravated assault in a pair of apparently random attacks in Vancouver on Wednesday that left one man dead and another with a severed hand has not yet been identified.

Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer said he was a “very troubled man who has a lengthy history of mental health-related incidents which have resulted in more than 60 documented contacts with police.”

2:08 Renewed calls for better mental health support after downtown Vancouver attacks

In 2010, 18-year-old Kimberly Proctor was lured to a home by 16-year-old Kruse Wellwood and 17-year-old Cameron Moffat.

The duo sexually assaulted and beat her, before leaving her to suffocate to death and then dumping her body on a hiking trail and setting it on fire.

Psychological assessments presented in court described the killers as psychopaths with sexual deviance and conduct disorder.

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“They escalated in violent behaviour. Everyone watched it. Their peers watched it, their teachers watched it, the community. And it kept escalating and escalating until Kimmy’s death,” Proctor’s aunt Jo-Anne Landolt said.

Wellwood and Moffat ultimately pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the killing and were sentenced as adults to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years. They remain in prison.

Since then, Proctor’s family has been fighting for the implementation of what they call “Kimberly’s Law,” also known as the Self Care Act.

The proposed legislation would require children and others diagnosed with violent mental health disorders to be subject to mandatory treatment in dedicated facilities.

2:35 Should Riverview Hospital be reopened?

“We need to house (people with dangerous mental health conditions) and get them the treatment that they need,” she said.

“Getting them treatment, counselling, medication, or to do with addictions and getting them off the drugs, and it goes hand in hand and a lot of it stems from youth trauma.”

One expert says involuntary hospitalization for those suffering from addiction or serious mental health issues doubled in B.C. between 2008 and 2018.

But clinical psychologist Julian Somers said the province is lacking community-based supports.

“Our health system is making significant investments in helping people establish stability and the beginnings of wellness, only to release them into settings where they’re almost doomed to fail,” he said.

In a statement, B.C.’s Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions acknowledged more work and treatment options are needed to keep people with severe mental health, addiction and brain injury issues out of the criminal justice system.

“That’s why we are expanding the Red Fish Healing Centre model to provide more treatment for people with the most complex mental health and addiction challenges,” the statement reads.

1:58 Calls for more mental health supports following fatal Vancouver attack

The ministry said the province had also hired the province’s first Chief Scientific Advisor for Psychiatry, Toxic Drugs, and Concurrent Disorders.

“In this role, he is looking at all options, including mandatory treatment, to find ways to provide better care for this growing population and keep our communities safe.”

But Landolt said she and Proctor’s family are tired of waiting for solutions.

“It seems to be ongoing. There is a huge, huge issue here in B.C. and throughout Canada that needs to be looked at seriously,” she said.

“We need to address them before it gets escalated and becomes like what happened to us.”