Over the past ten years or so, there have been a variety of activities and numerous discussions about regionalization of policing for Greater Victoria. The Township of Esquimalt recently turned down a request for a budget increase for the Victoria Police Department, re-opening this discussion.
Esquimalt’s Mayor and Council also sent a letter to the BC Government calling for the regionalization of police services in Victoria’s “core area” of Victoria, Esquimalt, Saanich, Central Saanich and Oak Bay. The Esquimalt Chamber of Commerce Supports this action.
Criminals, and civic issues that require police attention, do not confine themselves to municipal boundaries. Regionalization of policing will increase police effectiveness by integrating units such as serious crimes unit, sex crimes unit, financial crimes section and administration functions.
Under a regional service, all areas would have equal access to expensive specialized resources such as homicide and organized crime investigators, and forensics and tactical units.
There would be more officers, cars and units available to the force at any given time; if there is a brawl at the downtown, a missing child in the suburbs, or a gun call on the outskirts, the police can allocate any of these resources as needed to any location.
A regional approach would result in less duplication and more integration of infrastructure; this would lead to reduced policing costs which would be reflected in property taxes. The result would be an is an unusual mix of reduced cost leading to better public safety and quality of life.
The provincial government has the power to legislate such action as it demonstrated in 2003 when it integrated the Victoria and Esquimalt police departments. But it is always best when the push for such action comes from the municipalities.
In a recent poll that was part of the “Capital Integrated Services and Governance Initiative”, residents ranked police as second (behind transportation) as the service that would most benefit from a more integrated approach. It would obviously be wise for municipal governments to work together to continue a push for regionalized policing.
Therefore, the Esquimalt Chamber welcomes the motions recently passed by the Victoria and Saanich municipal councils recommending that local municipalities engage in discussions on the idea of a regional police force for the core area. The Chamber was also pleased to see that,
Given that we have a rare opportunity to improve public safety while simultaneously reducing costs, the Esquimalt Chamber of Commerce wishes to signal its willingness to work jointly with other chambers and municipal councils in the core area to engage with the BC Government on moving forward with a regional police force.
Chris Edly, CD P.Eng is President of the Esquimalt Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at chris@edley.ca
