3334 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

Accused killers in B.C. go unprosecuted for murder as judges allege that police unit is flouting search laws

 

High-stakes homicide cases by IHIT are taking blows from judges excluding crucial evidence, including cellphones, amid rulings that the RCMP-led unit 'flagrantly' breaks rules.

https://www.timescol...ch-laws-8431996

[Victoria Watcher]

Victoria police are warning people whose personal information was in an officer’s notebook that was lost for eight days last month that they should consider staying in a secondary location, locking their doors and being mindful of their surroundings.

 

The notebook “was in the temporary possession of the criminal element of Greater Victoria,” says a letter from the Victoria Police Department to those affected by the privacy breach.

 

The breach occurred on Feb. 14 and the department became aware of it on Feb. 20, the letter says. Names, addresses and vehicle information were included in the notebook.

 

https://www.timescol...element-8435654

 

 

 

 

they should consider staying in a secondary location

 

wtf.  For how long?  Will VicPD pick up my hotel expenses?   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Donald McKay, a criminal defence lawyer in Victoria, said a client was notified Monday of the lost notebook containing her information. Her information was also in the notebook that was lost in December 2022, he said.

 

Shortly after the first notebook was lost, she was the victim of a home invasion that was believed to be linked to the notebook, McKay said. “Twice in two years seems to be absurd, quite frankly. And it raises the question of whether or not this is a frequent occurrence and it’s only come to light because she happened to be involved in two circumstances,” he said.

 

His client, who does not want to be named, told McKay she is safe and taking precautions.

 

Lawyer P.G. Kent, whose client’s information was also in the most recent lost notebook, is considering bringing a class-action lawsuit against VicPD. The information in the notebook is private and should have been safeguarded, he said. “You can imagine the fear that this letter would instill in someone receiving it,” Kent said.

 

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 March 2024 - 05:08 AM.

[Mike K.]

Holy smokes!

[Victoria Watcher]

Saanich urges Greater Victoria District 61 to reinstate police officers in schools

 

Council voted unanimously to have Mayor Dean Murdock write a letter to the head of the Greater Victoria School District requesting reinstatement of the program

https://www.timescol...schools-8436700

[AllseeingEye]

What I don't understand re the police notebook is are there no authentication measures routinely included in any notebook build, especially one for sensitive purposes like policing? Even if it is physically stolen how does the thief gain access to the (file) contents?

 

Both my personal and especially my employer-provided machines - the latter on which I work with highly sensitive provincial/personal data - are triple authenticated by bullet proof passwords (which I change every 60 days), in addition to mobile phone-generated biometric and fingerprint credentials, which I have to provide via MS Authenticator, which is installed on my phone.

 

Are there not similar secure measures on police laptops? When they hop out of the car to grab a donut do they not as a matter of policy lock their laptops at a minimum, "just in case"?

[Victoria Watcher]

I think it’s a physical pen and paper notebook. Not a computer.

[AllseeingEye]

Heh....the IT guy in me: "notebook" always = laptop. A physical notebook never occurred. Well that makes sense but was it physically stolen then or simply misplaced by the officer? Or do we know?

[Victoria Watcher]

Saanich calls for reinstatement of school police liaisons in Greater Victoria

The program was discontinued in 2023 following a recommendation from B.C.’s human rights commissioner


https://www.vicnews....ictoria-7329259

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 14 March 2024 - 03:47 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Missing police notebook left behind at scene of a search, VicPD says

The notebook was temporarily in the possession of someone known to police who is suspected of criminal activity, the department says

https://www.timescol...pd-says-8441878

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 14 March 2024 - 03:48 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Victoria mom says 14-year-old son was groomed by gang members

https://www.cheknews...embers-1194970/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 14 March 2024 - 03:50 AM.

[pontcanna]

‘Honoured to begin my role’: Oak Bay Police announce new chief constable

A police officer who made history when she became Greater Victoria’s first female deputy chief constable has just been promoted to Oak Bay’s top cop.

Oak Bay deputy chief Julie Chanin will be appointed as the district’s new chief constable, the police board announced Monday. She’s moving up in rankings after outgoing chief constable Mark Fisher announced his retirement.

 

 

Chanin took the deputy role in April 2022 and, at the time, told CHEK News it was “still sinking in,” adding, “I’m just so grateful for the opportunity.”

At the time, a women’s advocate said it was a progressive, positive move.

Though Chanin has been with Oak Bay Police for 13 years, she has more than two decades of policing experience, having previously worked for the West Shore and Port McNeill RCMP detachments.

Now, she’s ready for the next chapter in her career.

“I am honoured to begin my role as Chief Constable and fortunate to have a dedicated team of police officers, staff and volunteers all committed to serving the community of Oak Bay,” said Chanin, adding that she looks forward to continuing the work of so many in making the district safer.

Police board chair Kevin Murdoch touches on trust, saying it’s “such an integral part of successful community policing, and DCC Chanin has earned the trust of the Board, the Department, and the broader community we serve.”

Chanin’s first day in the role is June 1.

More: https://www.cheknews...stable-1195695/

[pontcanna]

IIO finds no grounds for charges against Victoria police officer who broke woman's arm with beanbag round

 

Information provided by the Victoria Police Department states that at about 7:05 p.m. on September 9, 2022, police responded to a call regarding a woman yelling near the intersection of Park Boulevard and Heywood Avenue.

 

It is reported that when officers arrived, the woman had a weapon and following negotiation attempts, she was taken into custody at about 10:15 p.m.

 

The woman was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

 

The IIO was notified of the incident shortly after it occurred and has commenced an investigation.

 

Outcome:

https://iiobc.ca/app...rm-2022-241.pdf

 

[pontcanna]

[pontcanna]

@vicpdcanada

Just another day at the paw-ffice! This furry friend decided to leap out the window of a parked vehicle today. En route to another call, Cst. Cleary sprung into action, securing the pup w/ a leash from his bag & ran the license plate of the vehicle to alert the owner. #yyj

 

[pontcanna]

Former police board member claims Victoria police face ‘crisis of integrity’

A former member of the Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board says a complaint he filed against the Victoria Police Department is about shoring up public trust between the community and the police.

Paul Schachter told a police board meeting Tuesday that policing in Victoria is facing a “crisis of integrity” as he pointed to concerns set out by a B.C. Supreme Court judge who criticized officers for “intentionally lying” to prosecutors and the court, derailing a major drug investigation.

Schachter’s complaint filed with the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner of B.C. last month is now slated to be investigated by officers from the Surrey Police Service and Delta Police, but he said in an interview on Wednesday that a “cloud of smoke” remains over the department’s handling of the complaint.

He said the investigation into the complaint should not involve Victoria police Chief Del Manak, and instead should be overseen by a retired judge or an “impartial person.”

Police board co-chair Esquimalt Mayor Barbara Desjardins issued a statement Wednesday saying, “as a board we have confidence in the policies, training and leadership within our department, which we pay very close attention to, but we have a responsibility to listen and respond to concerns from our communities.”
 

A judge found that Victoria police investigators had misled Crown prosecutors by concealing the existence of an initial drug investigation that stopped when an officer involved was arrested for breach of trust and obstruction of justice.

That officer, Rob Ferris, had come under scrutiny by the RCMP’s anticorruption unit, and Victoria police stopped the investigation that the officer was involved in after he was arrested in June 2020, the court ruling says.

Schachter, a retired lawyer who resigned from the board in late 2022, said he made a six-part complaint under the Police Act against the department, claiming there’s a “failure in general direction and management or operation” of the Victoria Police Department.

Schachter said he believes members of the police board are “very concerned about antagonizing” the police department’s management, which he called “disturbing.”
 
Victoria Police Board member Paul Faoro said at Tuesday’s meeting that it’s a “complex investigation” and the board can expect to hear back from external investigators by early this fall.

More: https://www.cheknews...egrity-1195981/

[pontcanna]

Greater Victoria high school students sharpen leadership skills at Police Camp

Mar. 20, 2024 

Sixty students from across Greater Victoria have signed up for a leadership program at Albert Head Cadet Camp in Metchosin.

Over the course of seven days, they attend a mix of lectures on leadership and public safety, physical training, activity challenges, drill instruction, exploration of social responsibility, good citizenship and important life skills, according to organizers.

 

“You build on so many skillsets – confidence, leadership, discipline – but really, it’s you who grows out of this experience,” said Haris Umair, a student from Royal Bay Secondary School.
 

“We go through their schools and do presentations, and we work with the school counselors and system,” said Kim Basi, camp director.
 

They have French Bulldogs in cop cars now? - Pontcanna

 

This year, they received a hundred applications – 60 of them made it to Police Camp. Pamela Suarez, a student from Reynolds High School, is one of them.

 

“Being a police officer is something I wanted to do for a long time. I saw this opportunity, so I had to go for it, and now I think I’ll do it.”

At camp, students get hands-on experience through B&E simulations in groups of 12 led by team leaders.

“What we help out with is answering any questions the students have, leading them through the scenarios,” said Const. Chris Kayiatos with Victoria Police.

As a provincially incorporated non-profit society, the GVPF’s vision is that the communities of Victoria, Esquimalt, Oak Bay, Saanich and Central Saanich, as well as regional Indigenous communities, experience positive change driven by youth through empowering citizenship and leadership programs.

More: https://www.cheknews...e-camp-1196070/

[pontcanna]

Police shooting of armed man was justified, says oversight agency

Police had no way of knowing the handgun the man was brandishing as he walked toward them wasn’t loaded, the Independent Investigations Office said in its decision.


A section of Highway 17 in Saanich was behind police tape on Friday, April 28, 2023. 

The Saanich police shooting of an armed man and the subsequent deployment of a police dog was a reasonable response, says B.C.’s civilian police-oversight agency.

Police had no way of knowing the handgun the man was brandishing as he walked toward them wasn’t loaded, the Independent Investigations Office said, so it made sense for officers to consider the situation “as posing an immediate and critical threat to officers and to deploy lethal force in their defence.”

Officers took cover behind vehicles that had been stopped on the Patricia Bay Highway on April 28, 2023, when the man had raised the gun to his head as he sat in the driver’s seat, the decision said.

After he got out of the BMW SUV with the gun, an officer “fired a single rifle shot from a position across the highway and [the man] fell to the pavement,” it said.

And since the man was still moving and within reach of the gun, a police dog was released to drag him away from the weapon.

The driver later told IIO investigators that he had only “partial memories” from the day of the incident and was in “a dark place” at the time.

An empty vodka bottle was found next to the SUV.

He had a medical appointment set for the evening that required temporary removal of the electronic-monitoring device he was wearing, so the device was taken off that afternoon at a probation office.

The removal meant he was required to be in regular phone contact with the probation office.

He told investigators he stopped at a friend’s house on his way home and picked up a nine-millimetre pistol he had recently purchased, then went to a liquor store and bought a 750-millilitre bottle of vodka.

The man said he couldn’t remember if he had loaded the gun, but did recall sitting in the SUV in the driveway and putting the gun to his head.

“He told investigators that he did not remember leaving the house, or anything that happened afterwards, until he woke up in hospital three days later.”

Police were sent to the man’s residence because he had not been responding to calls from the probation office. They saw the SUV leaving the area and ­followed it to see who was driving.

The man was heard moving the sliding mechanism on the gun back and forth.

He ignored repeated commands by police before deciding to leave the vehicle with the gun, which led to the shooting.

Not only was the shooting by police justified, but the use of a police dog to move the man away from the gun was also a ­reasonable choice and “was certainly preferable to further use of lethal force,” the decision said.

More: https://www.timescol...-agency-8472548

[Nparker]

The latest from the Grumpy Taxpayers

********************************************

Grumpy Taxpayer$ of Greater Victoria

March 24, 2024

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

How can we get better value for our tax dollar?

Regional policing costs almost $800-M

Why doesn't the city bill bill the CRD for policing?

 

A fractured policing model costing $800 million annually continues to make law enforcement in the capital region more expensive and less effective.

 

According to an analysis of current provincial data by Grumpy Taxpayers, entitled Police Costs Greater Victoria, policing the South Island cost taxpayers almost $800 million in 2022 for 600 police across multiple fragmented forces.

 

At $284 million or 22.5% of their municipal budget Victoria and Esquimalt taxpayers continue to cope with a disproportionate burden to pay for policing the core area and the region beyond.

 

“Which city in Canada has this many police forces?” asks John Treleaven, chair of Grumpy Taxpayers. “No one does because it’s costly and not as effective as it should be. It amounts to a breach of fiduciary duty.”

 

If Victoria is looking at billing senior government for public safety expenses, maybe they should also be billing the CRD, says Treleaven. They clearly pay a disproportionate share of policing costs on the South Island.

 

The issues become even more noticeable as the regional population increases every year, estimated in January 2023 at 440,000 by the CRD.

 

Even though the landmark report “Transforming Policing and Community Safety in British Columbia" of April 2022 expressed support for addressing law enforcement fragmentation 'to ensure equitable access to policing and public safety, and improve efficiency and effectiveness,' it seems that the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General is reluctant to move on that recommendation.

 

It’s hoped though the Victoria-Saanich Citizens' Assembly on Municipal Amalgamation that kicked off in February will study regional policing to shed more light on the topic, Treleaven says.

 

The BC 2022 Police Resources annual roundup details the costs of the Westshore RCMP including Colwood, Langford, Sooke, Highlands, Metchosin, Songhees First Nation and Esquimalt First Nation, and the Sidney/North Saanich detachment. There are also four separate municipal police forces in Victoria-Esquimalt, Saanich, Oak Bay, and Central Saanich.

 

In 2022 both Victoria and Esquimalt spent 22.5% of their respective budgets on policing, while other municipalities spent from a low of 5.7% (Highlands) to a high of 17.4% (Central Saanich). The largest municipality, Saanich, spent 17.1% on policing. 

 

All figures predate the unionization of the RCMP in August 2021, which is now adding significantly more to budgets that employ Mounties. Since 2022, as well, Metchosin has grown larger than 5,000 people. As a result it will no longer be subsidized by the federal taxpayer and local police costs will rise substantially.

 

Our analysis details police strength, population per officer, the number of Criminal Code offences, crime rate, case load, policing and cost per capita.

 

The crime severity index - which takes into account the volume and seriousness of crime - continues to be very high in Victoria, as does the policing costs per capita. At $572, the policing costs per capita in Victoria and $456 in Esquimalt were significantly greater than all other municipalities in the region.

 

Meanwhile, Esquimalt is exploring the idea of breaking away from the joint Victoria-Esquimalt police force but has recently agreed to extend their contract for another year. It also decided to trim it's budget for a new public safety building although minus space for a police department.

[Matt R.]

800 mil for 600 cops? That’s a lot of overhead!

[Nparker]

Agreed. I don't think there are a lot of police officers making $1.3 million/year in salary. Perhaps they need to vote themselves a 25% salary increase.