518 replies to this topic

[Holden West]

As a resident of Oak Bay, I like having my own community police force.

We envy you--but you realize the rest of us shoulder a burden for your luxury.

[concorde]

We envy you--but you realize the rest of us shoulder a burden for your luxury.

Please elaborate why you feel that way.

[mat]

The only amalgamation that is on the table is Victoria and Esquimalt, which is a huge shame, and will provide little real change - it's a budget exercise. The mayor of View Royal is active in promoting a separate municipal amalgamation (boards and services) between View Royal, Langford and Colwood - mainly due to the lack of progress, and difficulties, in CRD mergers.

A CRD force, with the current budget for all, would provide cost savings, more dedicated uniform and investigative officers, in-house vs cross jurisdiction information sharing and dedicated squads to tackle everything from fraud to street level drug dealing.

The problem now is that no regional force has the budget to fund a forensics team, and especially needed now, a technical squad that can investigate computer crime. Only combining the efforts and tax base of the entire CRD will the public be truly serviced.

The hold-out in this process will be Saanich. As a resident I am fairly satisfied with policing in our community, and I know Saanich Police provide allot of backup for Victoria and Sidney. The question from residents here will be 'why fix something that isn't broken'.

As for the comments on local, community presence - there is no reason an amalgamated force could not have offices in Oak Bay, Downtown, Fairfield, James Bay, Gordon Head etc. In fact, a regional force would likely have more of a budget to fund community offices.

[Holden West]

Please elaborate why you feel that way.

Why I envy you?! Because while you enjoy Oak Bay Police's "No Call Too Small, We Take Them All" policy (their quote), Victoria residents wait while their 911 calls are put in a priority queue, where hopefully a cop will be by to investigate that break-in or suspicious person within an hour or two.

Do I make myself clear?

[concorde]

Holden, not that, but why "you realize the rest of us shoulder a burden for your luxury"

[Holden West]

Victoria's police officers are overworked. Urban policing is more difficult than suburban policing and on top of that, Vic PD's caseload is way above the Provincial average. Victoria/Esquimalt residents suffer because their cops are overworked while across the border the human resources we so badly need are leisurely cruising the boulevards and shuffling redundant paperwork.

This must end.

[concorde]

The "human resources we so badly need are leisurely cruising the boulevards and shuffling redundant paperwork" regularily patrol areas of Saanich and Victoria as I regularily see Oak Bay police vehicles across the border. A few weeks ago there was an car accident at Richmond and Hillside, an area of Saanich, and as I drove thru there wasn't a Saanich cop in sight, Oak Bay Police were there directing traffic and in control of the scene.

I can only assume that Oak Bay is keeping track of their costs and billing Saanich and Victoria accordingly. Probably not, but its nice to know my tax dollars help to pay to shoulder the burden of underfunded neighbouring municipal police forces.

[Mike K.]

Hillside and Richmond is literally one block away from the Oak Bay border. Come to think of it that intersection is on the border of Oak Bay, Saanich and Victoria. I'm surprised all three forces didn't respond to that one (or maybe they did?).

Here's the deal with borders. Cops have no jurisdiction in other municipalities. If they happen to become aware of an emergency and they're within earshot they'll probably respond in order to stabilize a situation before the municipal force arrives to take over but they do NOT patrol other municipalities unless there is an agreement between the two forces.

Furthermore, the vast majority of instances where we see cops from one municipality driving through another has to do with official business and not patrolling someone else's turf. These cops are traveling to attend court hearings, to meetings with other forces, etc, (or in the case of OB cops, to fuel up their vehicles [I'm sure they have a pump at the station, I'm just kidding]) and while the idea of helping another force just because is romantic, it's not reality.

[Holden West]

^That doesn't even take into account the duplication of bureaucracy, which is the real issue.

[yodsaker]

We envy you--but you realize the rest of us shoulder a burden for your luxury.

I wouldn't call it luxury.
On July 2 I forked over $3600 net property tax, partly for the "luxury" of having cadets tool around in gas-guzzling Fords with numerous Starbuck's breaks.

[VicHockeyFan]

I wouldn't call it luxury.
On July 2 I forked over $3600 net property tax, partly for the "luxury" of having cadets tool around in gas-guzzling Fords with numerous Starbuck's breaks.

Hey, someone has to drive drunk teenage girls home.

[yodsaker]

Way easier than dealing with a deranged violent man in the process of killing his family.

[Rorschach]

It can get worse. Officers drive a drunk home and the drunk kills his family right after he leaves. It's happened.

[Mike K.]

Doesn't the OB PD contract out major crimes to Saanich PD?

[mat]

Saanich gets major crimes contracting for Victoria, Oak Bay and Esquimalt - something I have never understood. There is really no difference in staff, experience or facilities between Victoria Police and Saanich.

There are many integrated teams dealing with homicide, drugs, fraud, child abuse, vice etc. In fact all our municipal police forces work together (obviously they have to) - the problem with this 'de-facto' amalgamation is the overhead.

I think CREST is an obvious example of where we need to be in the near future, and how too many chiefs (no pun intended) spoils the pow-wow. CREST could be a mutually usable, but secure, communications system for all emergency services, and it's debacle shows we need a single administration covering policing for the CRD.

No matter what form of amalgamation, or further integration, of policing within the CRD the voters choose, let us not forget recent past. We need oversight - publicly accountable, open and powerful independent ombudsmen and boards that will ensure our police do their job, within the law.

[Mike K.]

Are you sure about Saanich's involvement in Victoria? VPD has their own major crimes unit (that covers Esquimalt) while OB doesn't. Perhaps VPD uses Saanich for certain purposes but doesn't turn to them by default like OB does.

[mat]

Mike, it is a good question and I only know this anecdotally - Victoria does have a major crimes unit, most (the available ones) of whom are full time employed on the various integration squads (Saanich and RCMP). I understand Victoria only supplies a small percentage of the total number of integrated officers as many have been re-directed to local (small?) crime issues, like B+E, and admin - and this has been going on for years. I would like to know how much Victoria pays Saanich, The RCMP et al for services.

Saanich police (and I am not a cheerleader for them) appear to be the the lead in investigations across the CRD, and use their physical offices for major crimes involving cross jurisdictional issues.

While we all seem to recognize the dysfunctional policing situation within the CRD (heaven help us in a real emergency) - there are other CRD services, like animal control, which illustrate the need for political unity, rather than simple 'team integration'.

[Rob Randall]

Gerrard is in the curious position of wearing a double hat as president of two community associations on either side of the municipal border. While Victoria’s Burnside-Gorge community signed the pro-amalgamation letter (without Gerrard’s awareness), he speaks out against amalgamation while donning his Gorge-Tillicum community hat.

I'll have to check my records but I'm certain a BG rep attended the Police Board meeting we were all at when we discussed this issue. I don't know why Gerrard didn't know about this. It was the major topic at last years' Board/Community Association meeting as well.

[Rob Randall]

^I checked my records and found that e-mails regarding our amalgamation support letter were sent directly to Paul Gerrard (president-bgca@shaw.ca) on June 30. So either Gerrard hasn't been checking his inbox or there is dissent within the Burnside Gorge Community Association.

[Holden West]

[Vancouver] Breaking down a policing mosaic

MARK HUME
Globe and Mail
February 28, 2009

When former Vancouver police chief Bob Stewart joined the force in 1954, his father, who'd preceded him into uniform, told him he was getting into the profession at an exciting time.

"You are going to see Vancouver grow up and have metropolitan policing," he recalls his father saying.

Mr. Stewart laughs at that memory, because, 55 years later, a unified, Metro Vancouver police force is still an elusive dream.

Chief Cessford heads one of the most popular forces in the country, with a recent poll showing 93 per cent of respondents are satisfied with police services. The reason, he says, is simple: "We sweat the small stuff and that gives us a real connection with the community."

A homicide investigator with Edmonton police for 14 years, Chief Cessford says his Delta department responds to every call, no matter how small.

"Noisy frogs and barking dogs. We go," he says.

Oak Bay PD, anyone?