Following violent incidents, students say they’re paying the price for the actions of few

It was another weekend of youth arrests in downtown Victoria, with eight offenders being caught, and students in Langford feel they are being unfairly blamed for the actions of others.

Victoria Police say most of the offenders are from surrounding communities including Saanich, Langford, and Oak Bay. Students in Langford are speaking out following the violent incidents saying that most of them are not involved.

“There’s a couple of bad kids, but there’s bad kids everywhere. So it’s not like Langford is the issue,” said Liam, a grade 12 student.

VicPD says it will continue with patrols in key locations ahead of the long weekend. Online, many have expressed their concerns for safety downtown and that action needs to be taken from police.

Many of the students from Belmont Secondary School say they feel they’re being grouped up alongside offenders even though they are not involved in the violent acts.

“Knowing that I would be considered one of those people, doesn’t feel the best because I’m not that type of person to like get into fights and get really drunk or anything like that,” said Jade, a grade 10 student.

Other students told CHEK News that they have cut ties with any other people who may have been involved in any recent incidents.

“I’ve actually had a couple of personal friends that seemed to do it and I’ve dropped a lot of them,” said Liam.

Due to public backlash, students say they’re afraid of going downtown in case they get roped into crimes or are targeted.

“It’s not the safety issue, it’s getting caught up in it and then getting arrested for something that we didn’t do,” said Brayden, a grade 10 student.

VicPD has said it is working with other regional partners to prevent future incidents. In a statement to CHEK News, School District 61 wrote:

“SD61 will be sending messaging to families today to provide support and guidance for families. In addition, there are plans to revisit these conversations at upcoming scheduled assemblies.”

The Sooke School District is also aware of the recent incidents. In a statement, the district wrote “We continue to work in collaboration with other local school districts and law enforcement agencies to address community and school issues in a proactive and collective approach.”

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