Victoria police say a youth was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly robbing a person at knifepoint in James Bay.
Police say they were called to the 100-block of Menzies Street around 8 p.m. Tuesday after a victim reported that they were riding their skateboard when they were approached by a group of six youths, and then subsequently robbed.
The victim said one of the youth pulled out a knife and pointed it at them before taking some of their belongings.
“Responding officers searched the area and located the school-aged group of youth nearby,” said VicPD in a release Friday.
The youth with the knife was then arrested, and the victim had all their belongings returned. The youth suspect was later released with a future court date.
“The investigation is ongoing and further details cannot be shared at this time,” said Victoria police.
Youth crime
The police department says it’s continuing to work with schools, parents, caregivers and other police departments on curbing youth crime in the region.
It’s part of a larger process that kicked off in summer 2022, when VicPD was seeing large crowds of youth coming to downtown Victoria during the waning days of the pandemic.
Some nights included gatherings of “over 150 youth,” according to VicPD, with some young suspects causing mischief, random assaults or publicly consuming drugs and alcohol.
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VicPD says one of its efforts to curb youth crime is the Mobile Youth Services Team (MYST), which is a regional unit that works in all municipalities in the capital region, and sees police officers partnered with youth counsellors to support high-risk youth “that are often targeted for sexual exploitation or gang recruitment.”
Adam Chan
