Man charged in connection with break-in at Yukon victim services office

Police say a man has been charged in connection with a break-in last weekend at the Yukon victim services office in Whitehorse.

The break-in saw some confidential files accessed and has forced the office to close its doors through this week while staff determine the extent of the privacy breach.

In a news release on Thursday, RCMP say they received a report of the break-in at victim services on Saturday and then received a report of another robbery downtown, on Tuesday morning. The masked suspect had entered a store brandishing a "metal object," demanding money and attempting to break display cases.

Police say they "quickly" identified the man and arrested him for the robbery and on an outstanding warrant. Police also executed a search warrant at the man's residence on Tuesday, recovering some items believed to have been stolen during the break-in.

The man faces several charges related to the break-in and robbery, as well as weapons charges. He was remanded to appear in court again on April 3.

'Large portion' of files at victim services electronic, not accessed by intruder

Meantime, the territorial government says it is still assessing how much confidential information has been compromised by the break-in at victim services, and contacting clients whose files may have been seen by the intruder.

A government news release on Thursday says a "large portion" of the records at the office, including client case notes, are in an electronic database and were not accessed during the break-in.

Staff are still taking an inventory of paper records and that work will continue into next week, the release says.

"The cases with the highest potential risks to clients have been prioritized to be reviewed first, though every client's file will be carefully examined," the release states.

Cell phones stolen from the office were disabled, though the government says the majority of those phones were new and blank phones intended for clients. Staff are still trying to figure out potential risks associated with the other phones, between the time they were stolen and when they were disabled.

The release says some physical security improvements have already been made at the office on Main Street, and more might follow as a security review continues.

The office was originally going to be closed for two days earlier this week, but it's now expected to stay closed until Monday. In the meantime, staff and support services are still available by phone.

Anybody who is concerned or has questions about their own files at victim services is asked to call 667-8500 to talk to staff.