The recent announcement that the Weyburn police will receive a valuable resource, the Victim Services program, was welcomed with relief by city and police officials alike, and for good reason.

It is strange that a centre the size of Weyburn would be without such a valuable service for so long, when smaller centres have had Victim Services available for years. The financial support for the Victim Services coordinator is certainly welcome, and indeed was needed to make the program a reality here - but why did it take the government so long to recognize that such a program should be made available here?

Estevan has had this program for years now, and belatedly the Weyburn region and Stoughton will now be added to the Southeast Regional Victim Services program, currently headquartered out of Estevan.

Victim Services is a resource available for any victim of a crime or traumatic event in Weyburn, Radville, Fillmore and Stoughton; this means not only those who have been victimized by a criminal act, such as assault or robbery or vandalism, but those who experience such traumatic events as a serious motor vehicle accident, a shooting or a suicide or attempted suicide.

When police respond to a major crime scene or horrific accident scene, they have a lot of responsibility to deal with the crime and investigate, and to also deal with the victims involved or their families. They may not always have the time that a victim or victim's family should get as they try to deal with the trauma - this is where Victim Services shines, as their volunteers can take whatever time is needed to deal with the situation.

They can also make referrals to appropriate agencies that could help, whether it's for counselling, or for getting over a major loss due to a fire, accident or crime. The Weyburn area has all sorts of government and non-governmental agencies with people who care, people who can lend the kind of assistance victims need, and often the victims just need someone to point them in the right direction.

For those in the community who think they might be able to lend a hand once in a while as a volunteer, training will be held in June as part of the effort to have Victim Services up and available as soon as possible. Those interested in volunteering need to contact the new coordinator, Tara Bailey, through her office at the Weyburn city police station.

Besides the support Victim Services can provide, they can also help ensure the voice of the victim is heard by the justice system as they work through the case once arrests have been and charges laid. Sometimes the wheels of justice turn very slowly and it's easy over time to forget those whose lives were impacted; they need to know that their concerns are being looked at and heard by the police, lawyers and judges involved.

As both the police chief and mayor noted much lobbying went into the request for Victim Services, maybe the lobbying for other justice issues, such as for a resident judge for Weyburn, might also finally be heard. It might be a long shot, but it's worth pursuin

- Greg Nikkel