The Victoria Police Department’s plan to hire six new officers is in jeopardy after the Township of Esquimalt turned down its request for funding.
Police Chief Del Manak told City of Victoria council Thursday that he is optimistic there might still be a way to hire the new officers.
In January, Victoria councillors approved a $528,000 increase to the Victoria-Esquimalt police budget to allow for the new officers. However, the department needed Esquimalt’s approval for its $94,374 share.
Victoria is responsible for about 85 per cent of the police budget, while Esquimalt covers the balance.
Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins said councillors turned down the request in a 4-3 vote because there was no guarantee any of the six officers would be stationed in Esquimalt.
“It came forward as six officers, they weren’t dedicated to any one place,” said Desjardins, who is co-chairwoman of the police board with Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps.
Helps called the decision disappointing, but said it’s good grounding if the Capital Regional District is going to move toward regional policing.
“I’m convinced we need these officers for the region — the region of Esquimalt and Victoria. And the police board is convinced and the department is convinced and my council is convinced,” she said.
In 2011 Esquimalt was on the verge of turfing Victoria police and contracting out policing to the RCMP after residents complained of slow response times to 911 calls and a lack of visible police presence.
That move was rejected by the province, which appointed a mediator to repair the broken relationship between the township and the police department. A 10-year contract was signed, guaranteeing 24 officers would be assigned to the community.
A framework agreement laid out how new officers can be hired. Desjardins said councillors were concerned that the request for new officers didn’t meet the standards of that agreement.
Even with dedicated patrols, Victoria police officers are more often called out of Esquimalt to respond to emergencies in Victoria than the other way around, Desjardins said.
In his budget presentation to Victoria council, Manak said the new officers are needed to deal with the opioid overdose crisis, “downtown core issues” and a high concentration of establishments that serve liquor. However, when Manak went before Esquimalt councillors last month, he said Esquimalt has a high proportion of priority one “immediate” calls that tax resources.
Manak also pointed out that Esquimalt’s demands have grown as well, with population growth of 8.6 per cent between 2011 and 2016, above the regional average of 6.5 per cent.
Helps said Clayton Pecknold, the provincial director of police services, will convene an administrative committee Monday to review the issue under the framework agreement for policing between Esquimalt and Victoria.
Manak, however, said “there’s a window of opportunity” to get the issue back before Esquimalt council for reconsideration if the administrative committee decides the framework agreement was applied correctly.
He told Victoria councillors Thursday that the Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board has asked him to develop options should the funding for the additional six officers not be approved.
