Esquimalt council has once again turned down a request from Victoria Police to provide a share of the funding needed to hire six new officers in 2018.
After a similar request was rejected by a vote of 4-3 in January, VicPD Deputy Chief Colin Watson presented the force’s revised case in front of Mayor Barb Desjardins and six councillors on Monday night.
Deputy Chief Watson explained that the four of the officers would be based in Victoria while two would be used to create an Alternate Response Unit that would serve both municipalities.
Their duties would include telephone response and investigative support for on-street officers.
Esquimalt would be on the hook for roughly 15 per cent of the requested budget or approximately $94,300.
Once again, a majority of council voiced doubts about whether statistics show an actual need for more officers in Esquimalt.
They also expressed concerns that not one of the new hires would be specifically assigned to the township.
“People have said where is the business case,” Mayor Barb Desjardins told Watson.
“You sort of brought it back to us in a different way and I’m struggling to understand where the case is.”
Desjardins also serves along with Victoria mayor Lisa Helps as co-chair of the Victoria Police Board.
Victoria earlier approved a request to provide roughly 85% of the funding for the new hires.
Ben O'Hara
