The public inquiry into the Robert Pickton case is shifting its focus to policies that could protect vulnerable women with a series of forums that will replace the courtroom format that has guided the hearings until now.

The inquiry is divided into two parts: evidentiary hearings that are examining what happened in the failed Pickton investigation, and a study commission that will focus on potential policy changes.

Commission lawyer Art Vertlieb says the study commission, which starts this week, is the most important part of the process because it will look forward at what needs to change.

Vertlieb says the detailed examination of why police failed to catch Pickton in the early 1990s and the early 2000s is meaningless unless the commission looks for ways to make things better.

Commissioner Wally Oppal will hear from presenters on topics including the safety of aboriginal sex workers, the relationship between the police and the public, and police accountability.

Several days of public forums is scheduled in addition to more formal testimony about the Pickton investigation before the entire inquiry wraps up at the end of May.