518 replies to this topic

[sebberry]

I wonder if Oak Bay could save money if they just hired a private security firm to do their policing?

 

Blackwater Oak Bay? 

[Mike K.]

Considering the controversies surrounding the OBPD's handling of high-profile cases a private security firm might actually be a better deal financially and otherwise

[Bingo]

They are security guards for the rich, they even advertise the fact. What other department does this?

 

https://www.oakbay.c...-patrol-program

 

I live in Saanich and when the neighbours security alarm went off recently, Saanich Police arrived on the scene within minutes of the security company.

 

I thinks that if the police are out on patrol and they know you are away, that is a good service to have if they drive by your house, much as they would someone's business in the middle of the night.

[Bingo]

Recently Statistics Canada released the results of their study of the 2012 crime severity statistics. The report focused on crime severity statistics for the 297 communities in Canada with populations of 10,000 or more residents.

The Oak Bay results were encouraging as we continued to rank amongst the safest communities in Canada.

more; https://www.oakbay.c...est-communities

 

[LJ]

They are security guards for the rich, they even advertise the fact. What other department does this?

 

https://www.oakbay.c...-patrol-program

Police in other small cities do this as well, I think it also helps them by knowing which properties are vacant etc.

[G-Man]

Perhaps my point is that real city police forces could never offer such a service because they are actually you know doing police work. Why should a tax payer funded service offer what someone should be paying a private security firm to do?

[Mike K.]

Yeah, that's a good point.

 

Of course Oak Bay is not a city. It's a neighbourhood within a city.

[Bingo]

Yeah, that's a good point.

 

Of course Oak Bay is not a city. It's a neighbourhood within a city.

 

So it's a fine tuning of the Neighbourhood Watch Program. Perhaps that's why Oak Bay's crime rate is low.

[Mike K.]

Well, c'mon now Oak Bay is located in a low crime area of a low crime region on an island that has a relatively low crime rate as far as Canada, a low crime country, is concerned

[Bingo]

Good grief, am I the only one on this forum who has lived in Oak Bay and actually liked how things were run? 

[wisevictoria]

To me this seems pretty straightforward. OBPD is able to provide the vast majority of police services required to the citizens of Oak Bay. As they are a smaller department, they lack the resources to have the specialists required for certain major crime investigation. When the need arises, they utilize the services of other nearby police forces. 

 

The elected mayor and council of Oak Bay have presumably heard repeatedly from the electorate that keeping the municipal police force is desirable. Tax revenue from that same electorate is used to pay for them. Should the residents desires change, I suspect the policing service would change in time as well. I guess Oak Bay folks are generally happy with what they have going, so why change?

[Mike K.]

The contention arises from the rest of the region having to fund and maintain large and varied/specialized police forces 365 days of the year, while Oak Bay brings in the expertise and resources of those forces only when they want/need them.

 

To put it bluntly residents of other municipalities subsidize Oak Bay's "desirable" police force by training and maintaining specialized policing resources that they themselves use rarely but are forced to fund.

[rjag]

The contention arises from the rest of the region having to fund and maintain large and varied/specialized police forces 365 days of the year, while Oak Bay brings in the expertise and resources of those forces only when they want/need them.

 

To put it bluntly residents of other municipalities subsidize Oak Bay's "desirable" police force by training and maintaining specialized policing resources that they themselves use rarely but are forced to fund.

But Mike, why is that OB's problem? Its the other Muni's problem that they make the service available and subsidize the service for OB....all they are doing is taking advantage of a simple 'pay by retainer' service.....obviously Saanich PD like it as its more money in their coffers and I'm sure they have costed it out and treat it the same way as insurance....if you don't use it the costs don't increase....use it too much and next years costs will reflect it

 

OB should be sending every Saanich household a thank you card every year for their kind contribution to keeping Oak Bay safe!!!

Edited by rjag, 07 February 2014 - 08:42 AM.

[Mike K.]

Oh of course, but we shouldn't pretend then that the OBPD is a legitimate police force that practices a higher degree of policing, or that Oak Bay is safer by virtue of its force's effectiveness, or what have you.

[wisevictoria]

Does anyone know if Oak Bay PD is charged by the other police forces that they bring in for assistance?

[Mike K.]

Yup, they are charged for the services they provide. I wish all tax payers had the option of bringing in police resources only when they're needed and paying for them only when they're needed.

[D.L.]

Do you think that Oak Bay is undercharged for the services of Saanich police that they use? Because this sounds like a system that works. A larger municipality has the resources for full police services and they are able to aid a smaller municipality for a cost.

[Mike K.]

Yes it does work but it also exposes the silly reality of the OBPD. A police force that has to call a police force to police it's jurisdiction shouldn't exist ...but in Oak Bay it does, and I'm not sure whether that's amusing or troubling

[LJ]

Hmmm, the other police services are being paid by OB to provide those services as required, I don't see the problem with that. It is the same as contracting out any other service or equipment that you don't have a requirement for all the time. OB feels it is more cost effective to provide general policing services to their residents and call in experts when the need arises.

 

Saanich can charge whatever they like for this, they negotiate what they will get paid and are happy with the arrangement. Saanich taxpayers are probably happy with it too, as it subsidizes their taxes.

 

In theory you could have one forensic/investigative service for the whole island that could provide the experts required by  any muni. The munis would get to keep their local general duty police who would basically triage any situation and then call in whomever was required if they were required.

[LJ]

Good grief, am I the only one on this forum who has lived in Oak Bay and actually liked how things were run? 

Everybody else is just jealous Bingo.