With close to 150 calls to Saanich Police over the course of Friday and Saturday nights, it was still below average for a Halloween weekend.
The big night is still to come on Wednesday and Saanich Police will be ready, said Sgt. Jereme Leslie.
However, the 112-year-old police agency saw far less calls than it anticipated; in all there was about a dozen noise disturbances from house parties on both Friday and Saturday and just five liquor related calls on Friday.
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“Getting 150 calls is actually about normal for a weekend,” Leslie said. “We believe the weather had a significant factor.”
In other words, the torrential downpour on Saturday dampened spirits.
“We had staffed additional officers in anticipation for more noise disturbance,” Leslie went on. “That’s based on historical stats from years past.”
The only trend in calls that stood out from the weekend were noise complaints from house parties.
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It’s a far cry from the 1980s when the fields of Lambrick Park Secondary and Torquay Elementary were full of teens blasting bottle rockets and Roman candles.
CRD bylaw crackdowns and increased education has limited the number of fireworks and firecrackers used around Halloween, Leslie said. Often times when calls do come in, Saanich Fire will confirm a resident at the address has been permitted.
Buying and selling of fireworks are not permitted in Saanich; their usage is by permit only and is limited to Halloween (Oct. 31) night between 5 and 10 p.m.
