Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps and city councillor Charlayne Thornton-Joe have tabled a motion calling for an increase in funding to support more policing at city parks.
Homeless encampments are still in place at some city parks as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
Helps and Thornton Joe are recommending that council allocate $94,528 from the city’s Financial Stability Reserve to provide additional policing resources in the City of Victoria for the remainder of 2020.
“Additional police resources will have the benefit of ensuring greater public safety for everyone, from members of the public recreating in parks, to staff working in parks to vulnerable people living in parks who can and have been preyed upon by others,” the motion reads.
The motion states the Victoria Police Department has provided the following estimates for special duty officers (four hours per day) from Sept. 11 to Dec. 31.
- Seven days a week = $94,528
- Five days a week = $67,520
- Three days a week = $40,512
“Having VicPD provide additional assistance in the form of a special duty would provide significant relief to patrol and the Community Services Division and allow them to focus on their primary duties and projects. A continued collaborative and consistent approach with special duty officers, while maintaining police response to all other calls for service, will be beneficial to all our residents,” the motion reads.
The motion will be discussed by the City of Victoria council at the committee of the whole meeting on Thursday.
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