Thursday, March 28, 2024

Province orders 6 new officers for Victoria and Esquimalt

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While budget disputes continue between VicPD and the City of Victoria for 2019’s upcoming budget, BC’s Police Services has ordered that 6 new officers must be added to the VicPD force after they were denied by Esquimalt’s 2018 budget.

Last year, Esquimalt voted against a motion to add more officers to VicPD, which serves both municipalities, due to a decrease in a crime in the area.

Now, the acting director of BC’s Police Services, Tonia Enger, has ruled that the requested officers must be added to VicPD’s team, citing the distinction between ‘calls for service’ and crime rate and a condition that dedicates officers to Esquimalt.

See also: VicPD live-tweets expose the crazy things that happen in Victoria on Friday night

“As a 24/7 front line service, demand is highly driven by matters well beyond strict crime detection and prosecution,” said Enger in a letter to Mayors Desjardins and Helps.

“Matters related to public safety, mental health, addictions and other challenging societal concerns impact the demands for police time and resources.”

While Enger supports the need for more officers, she also states that the Police Board provided an “insufficient” amount of information to Esquimalt to explain the need for more staff.

“It is the Police Board’s responsibility under the Framework Agreement to, among other things, ensure that sufficient and relevant information and data is provided to each municipality to enhance decision making under the Framework Agreement that will ensure adequate policing within their jurisdictions,” she said.

With 6 officers being added, Enger has also added a condition that at least 1 member must be dedicated to Esquimalt at all times, regardless of service calls made from Victoria’s downtown core.

See also: Victoria police responded to number of notable calls this weekend

Prior to the addition of these officers, VicPD had not received a new member since 2010.

Meanwhile, tension remains between the Victoria Police Department and the City of Victoria after VicPD requested a $2.6M budget increase but only received $1.6M.

Additionally, VicPD has raised concerns that it is the only municipal department that is responsible for covering the NDP’s new Employer Health Tax.

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Adam Chan
Former Staff Writer at Victoria Buzz.

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