Victoria city council has approved the police chief’s request for additional money to boost patrols in and around Topaz Park, where people without homes are living in tents during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Del Manak asked for $52,500 to pay for a five-week special deployment that began last week and involves the equivalent of two additional officers seven days a week patrolling the neighbourhood around Topaz Park.
The deployment will conclude on May 22 unless the department seeks an extension due to ongoing public-safety issues.
Manak told the police board this week that crime surged in the area after the temporary encampment was established last month to alleviate crowding on Pandora Avenue.
His department reported last week that it received 70 calls for service from the area between April 5 and 11, more than twice the 31 calls received the week of March 15 to 21.
“There’s a high level of anxiety in the community,” Manak said. “We’re doing what we can to work with the community, but there’s one business that has been victimized, I think, up to five times now.”
Council will pay for the deployment using money from its Late Night Great Night program, which is not being used because downtown bars and clubs are closed during the pandemic.
Council also decided to use up to $100,000 from the program to provide emergency housing for vulnerable people.
