Re: In Saanich, no call is too small (Guest column, Frank Leonard, May 24)
It seems Mayor Leonard attempting to downplay Wally Oppal’s recommendation for regional policing (contained in his December 2012 Downtown Eastside Missing Women report) by implying that Saanich is the only department that responds to “false alarms, noisy house parties and break and enters,” that it practises community policing and that such coverage would change under a regional policing model?
Most large police departments in Canada deliver community based policing as envisioned in Mayor Leonard’s column. He states that integrated services suffice, however, such services are often first cut when police departments face budget restraints.
When the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crimes unit was formed in 2010, Saanich initially chose not to participate and only this year came on board (with significantly less dollars than VicPD despite Saanich’s larger population).
Recently, Sidney and North Saanich decided to withdraw from the Regional Crime Unit due to budget considerations and VicPD does not participate. Vancouver PD withdrew from an agreement with Port Moody to provide Emergency Response Team services this year, also due to budget constraints.
When VicPD pulled back one officer from the Regional Domestic Violence Unit last fall, they were criticized, yet Victoria and Esquimalt, with a smaller combined population than Saanich, had been funding two officers while Saanich funded only one.
Wally Oppal also made mention of problems with integration in his report. A regional force would deploy resources as required throughout the region and the inherent problems with integrated units would be eliminated.
Perhaps the mayor is concerned that the downtown core, where most of the region’s social challenges exist (homelessness, street-level substance abuse, and mental health issues) and where most of the region’s drinking and nighttime entertainment establishments are located, would draw resources away from Saanich.
There is no valid reason to believe that will occur, but better utilization and co-ordination of resources would occur under a regional model.
Victoria and Esquimalt, with a combined population of about 99,000, have 243 officers, whereas Saanich, with a population over 110,000, has 149 officers. The ratio of population to police is striking; one officer per 738 people in Saanich and one per 407 residents in Victoria/Esquimalt.
Victoria and Esquimalt had the highest per capita policing costs in the province in 2010. Since Esquimalt was forced to disband its combined police/fire department in 2001, it has been the only municipality to pay a share towards policing the region’s downtown.
Esquimalt’s contract with Victoria splits VicPD’s budget based on Esquimalt’s share of the combined assessed property values of both municipalities (currently around 15 per cent of the VicPD budget). Saanich, Oak Bay and other local municipalities pay nothing towards those costs.
Perhaps Mayor Leonard can explain how it is fair for Esquimalt to fund a share of downtown Victoria policing costs while Saanich doesn’t, yet Saanich residents contribute to downtown’s policing challenges.
The time has come for a regional police force. Left in the hands of local elected officials, nothing will happen. The Minister of Justice needs to act.
Colin Nielsen
Victoria
Editor’s note: Colin Nielsen is a former RCMP officer of 31 years, mainly in Greater Victoria.
