11779 replies to this topic

[Cassidy]

everyone is saying that public safety could be affected.  probably not.........

I agree ... I was a little disappointed to hear Manak himself state for the camera that this shortfall will make residents of Victoria "less safe".

That's not how a Police Chief reassures the folks he works for that his department is looking after those things that need to be looked after in order to make the COV a safer place than it otherwise would be.

[Sparky]

^ It’s not unlikely that Manak and Helps had a little chat after the vote, especially considering that Helps is the co-chair of the Police Board.

The completed budget has not been ratified yet.

There are more politics involved here than dollars.

[rjag]

Does the increase account for the extra $700k in EHT premiums? You know, the tax that everyone will absorb to get 'free MSP'

 

Funny how they can find the money to hire staff for the climate emergency and all the overages for the JSB and every other project....maybe cuts to the Poet Laureate and the City Family are in order

Edited by rjag, 16 February 2019 - 08:25 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

it’s included in the $1.8 million increase they are getting.

[rjag]

it’s included in the $1.8 million increase they are getting.

 

So its really a $1.1 million increase then

[jonny]

So its really a $1.1 million increase then

How much of an increase is it after taking into consideration wage increases and rising materials, fuel and administration costs?

[LJ]

I'm betting that the crime stats start to dramatically increase as VPD start to publish all the scenes they attend.

 

While they were under reporting before to show a decline in stats to demonstrate what a good job they were doing, that's about to change.

[Belleprincess]

Keep in mind, some on council asked the police to take on extra responsibilities- for instance handling morning wake-ups at our place. Lisa helps is the voice of reason? This is going to get scary. Has anyone noticed that when we are in the midst of a scandle - Ben isitts Twitter abruptly shuts down? He dodges the media? The guy can’t handle even the slightest bit of criticism yet he wants to be mayor?

[spanky123]

I'm betting that the crime stats start to dramatically increase as VPD start to publish all the scenes they attend.

 

While they were under reporting before to show a decline in stats to demonstrate what a good job they were doing, that's about to change.

 

You mean like we have been asking them to do for years? It wasn't the taxpayer that "broke" the crime stats website for 9 months or who set it up such that it doesn't report historical info. They are reaping what they sowed.

[Mike K.]

There certainly appears to be a component of poetic justice here. Back during the tent city saga residents complained that police were not accurately representing the situation and that crime statistics were not keeping pace with actual events.

At the time VicPD even said crime had not risen in the area and public sentiment was overblown.

I’m 100% behind the police and I wish they would get the funding they are seeking, but the last five years have been tumultuous as far as the relationship between VicPD and taxpayers is concerned (Elsner; crime stat issues; downplaying of criminality; the criminals are not bad, they’re desperate comment from Elsner; long response times to calls; etc).

I guess what I’m saying is if the last several years had not been spent downplaying criminality in the community, at least as far as public engagement is concerned, the refusal to fund the request wouldn’t have been as swift or easy as it was, I don’t think.

[Hotel Mike]

Another aspect is the disappointment of Elsner. When he came in everyone saw him as the guy who would smooth over the strained relationships that had developed. Instead Elsner became a whole investigation of his own, which lead to more rifts among personnel and politicians. 

[Mike K.]

From ViPD: Officers responded to 567 calls for service over the long weekend. These included 13 assault calls, 42 check well-being calls, 11 impaired calls, 44 unwanted person calls. 580 calls over the same period last year.

[Nparker]

...if the last several years had not been spent downplaying criminality in the community...the refusal to fund the request wouldn’t have been as swift or easy as it was, I don’t think.

Then again, who was directing the police to downplay criminality?

[Mike K.]

For all we know it was Elsner.

[rmpeers]

With the Children of Ben now creating a potential Isittocracy, does Ben have the support to do whatever he wants essentially? Even overriding the mayor, as in the police budget?

[Victoria Watcher]

the police department has been asked to get things done for only slightly more money. what’s wrong with that? does anyone think there is a government department anywhere that can make do with less than a 4.5% increase? they could likely take a 10% cut with no real noticeable reduction in services. saanich does the job with a larger service area and a larger population and with 80 fewer officers and a budget nearly $20 million less.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 19 February 2019 - 09:49 AM.

[Nparker]

Then again, who was directing the police to downplay criminality?

For all we know it was Elsner.

Yes, but who was directing Elsner?

[rjag]

the police department has been asked to get things done for only slightly more money. what’s wrong with that? does anyone think there is a government department anywhere that can make do with less than a 4.5% increase? they could likely take a 10% cut with no real noticeable reduction in services. saanich does the job with a larger service area and a larger population and with 80 fewer officers and a budget nearly $20 million less.

 

 

how many homeless shelters in Saanich compared to Vic? Apparently VicPD responded to the 3 main shelter 5600 times over the first 8 months last year...

 

You cant compare Saanich to VicPD when the core is the main business/entertainment/drug/homeless hub of the whole CRD

[Mike K.]

I suspect VW is trolling a little.

Saanich is a sleepy suburb compared to VicPD’s jurisdiction and everyone knows that’s the case.

[Cassidy]

 Apparently VicPD responded to the 3 main shelter 5600 times over the first 8 months last year...

Doesn't this just demonstrate that the 3 main shelters in the COV are so poorly managed that they should  be shut down in response to the incredibly poor job they're doing of running them?