B.C. should fund regional unit, police chiefs say
Times Colonist
May 10, 2015
Responding to calls from West Shore mayors to reinstate the regional crime unit, police chiefs from Victoria and Saanich said if the province is going to force an integrated unit, it should put some money behind it.
“If they’re going to mandate it against the wishes of the municipalities, they should come with money attached to it,” said Victoria police Chief Frank Elsner. “The police departments, we all work well together. It’s when the issues of funding come up that things start to break down.”
In November, the province introduced amendments to the Police Act that would force municipalities to participate in integrated policing units.
The mayors of Langford, Colwood and View Royal have raised the idea of the Ministry of Justice using those powers to bring back the largely successful regional crime unit, which targeted prolific offenders. The unit was disbanded last year after several municipalities pulled out.
Saanich police Chief Bob Downie said forcing co-operation may not be the solution, however.
“Mandating participation in regional units where the province is not paying for the resources requires a robust analysis as to what pressures are being experienced by each of the participating jurisdictions,” Downie said in a statement.
“Given there are limited resources, decisions to mandate participation in a regional policing unit in the absence of such analysis would almost certainly have unintended consequences.”
Downie said there needs to be full consultation with all the police departments before any decisions are made.
Justice Minister Suzanne Anton said on Wednesday she welcomes a discussion with the mayors.
The provincial government funds provincial integrated teams, such as the Integrated Child Exploitation Team and the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, which targets gang crime. However, regional integrated teams made up of police officers from municipal departments and the RCMP are paid for by the participating members.
West Shore RCMP is grappling with a spike in crime — up 16 per cent in the first three months of 2015 — and high-profile attacks on women on trails. Adding to that, a biker clubhouse believed to be linked to the Devils Army — described by B.C.’s anti-gang unit as a Hells Angels “puppet club” — has set up at 2775 Spencer Rd. across from Spencer Middle School.
Elsner said it is oversimplifying things to say that if the regional crime unit is re-established, the crime problem in Langford will disappear.
“They’re tying it to the biker gang [issue],” he said. “A property crimes unit wouldn’t have dealt with that.”
The regional crime unit was composed of plainclothes officers who would conduct surveillance on prolific offenders, often those recently released from jail or on a property-crime spree.
It was formed in 2007, with 13 officers and a cost-sharing agreement based on a formula of calls for service and number of officers.
But the unit’s numbers dropped by nearly a third when Victoria police pulled out, withdrawing four officers and $500,000 a year. One by one, more departments pulled out and Saanich police announced last year it had no choice but to disband the unit.
“What was happening with that unit, it was heavily weighted from a staffing perspective with Victoria and Saanich police officers, but most of the work those officers did was out of our jurisdiction,” Elsner said.
“So it’s very difficult for me to have officers working out in the West Shore when I have significant issues in my own community.”
Victoria and Saanich police are in the middle of talks to join forces on an integrated intelligence unit and Elsner said it might make more sense to make that a regional team. Officers would be able to analyze crime trends in order to effectively allocate resources, he said.
“That will give us the regional picture,” Elsner said. “It’s the knee-jerk reaction that we’ll just throw more police officers at [a problem].”
The region’s police boards are set to meet in June, when they will talk about how to achieve better collaboration between the region’s four municipal departments and three RCMP detachments.
University of Victoria political scientist Michael Prince said it is “unfathomable” that the regional crime unit was allowed to fold and it’s emblematic of the lack of leadership on policing in the region.
“We’re kind of bursting at the seams with the fragmented policing service we have ... and the lack of integrated services,” he said.
[email protected]
- See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/b-c-should-fund-regional-unit-police-chiefs-say-1.1930073#sthash.2ZdpYSkT.dpuf
Times Colonist
May 10, 2015
Responding to calls from West Shore mayors to reinstate the regional crime unit, police chiefs from Victoria and Saanich said if the province is going to force an integrated unit, it should put some money behind it.
“If they’re going to mandate it against the wishes of the municipalities, they should come with money attached to it,” said Victoria police Chief Frank Elsner. “The police departments, we all work well together. It’s when the issues of funding come up that things start to break down.”
In November, the province introduced amendments to the Police Act that would force municipalities to participate in integrated policing units.
The mayors of Langford, Colwood and View Royal have raised the idea of the Ministry of Justice using those powers to bring back the largely successful regional crime unit, which targeted prolific offenders. The unit was disbanded last year after several municipalities pulled out.
Saanich police Chief Bob Downie said forcing co-operation may not be the solution, however.
“Mandating participation in regional units where the province is not paying for the resources requires a robust analysis as to what pressures are being experienced by each of the participating jurisdictions,” Downie said in a statement.
“Given there are limited resources, decisions to mandate participation in a regional policing unit in the absence of such analysis would almost certainly have unintended consequences.”
Downie said there needs to be full consultation with all the police departments before any decisions are made.
Justice Minister Suzanne Anton said on Wednesday she welcomes a discussion with the mayors.
The provincial government funds provincial integrated teams, such as the Integrated Child Exploitation Team and the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, which targets gang crime. However, regional integrated teams made up of police officers from municipal departments and the RCMP are paid for by the participating members.
West Shore RCMP is grappling with a spike in crime — up 16 per cent in the first three months of 2015 — and high-profile attacks on women on trails. Adding to that, a biker clubhouse believed to be linked to the Devils Army — described by B.C.’s anti-gang unit as a Hells Angels “puppet club” — has set up at 2775 Spencer Rd. across from Spencer Middle School.
Elsner said it is oversimplifying things to say that if the regional crime unit is re-established, the crime problem in Langford will disappear.
“They’re tying it to the biker gang [issue],” he said. “A property crimes unit wouldn’t have dealt with that.”
The regional crime unit was composed of plainclothes officers who would conduct surveillance on prolific offenders, often those recently released from jail or on a property-crime spree.
It was formed in 2007, with 13 officers and a cost-sharing agreement based on a formula of calls for service and number of officers.
But the unit’s numbers dropped by nearly a third when Victoria police pulled out, withdrawing four officers and $500,000 a year. One by one, more departments pulled out and Saanich police announced last year it had no choice but to disband the unit.
“What was happening with that unit, it was heavily weighted from a staffing perspective with Victoria and Saanich police officers, but most of the work those officers did was out of our jurisdiction,” Elsner said.
“So it’s very difficult for me to have officers working out in the West Shore when I have significant issues in my own community.”
Victoria and Saanich police are in the middle of talks to join forces on an integrated intelligence unit and Elsner said it might make more sense to make that a regional team. Officers would be able to analyze crime trends in order to effectively allocate resources, he said.
“That will give us the regional picture,” Elsner said. “It’s the knee-jerk reaction that we’ll just throw more police officers at [a problem].”
The region’s police boards are set to meet in June, when they will talk about how to achieve better collaboration between the region’s four municipal departments and three RCMP detachments.
University of Victoria political scientist Michael Prince said it is “unfathomable” that the regional crime unit was allowed to fold and it’s emblematic of the lack of leadership on policing in the region.
“We’re kind of bursting at the seams with the fragmented policing service we have ... and the lack of integrated services,” he said.
[email protected]
- See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/b-c-should-fund-regional-unit-police-chiefs-say-1.1930073#sthash.2ZdpYSkT.dpuf