At a news conference on March 4th Mayor Barb Desjardins outlined the findings of the Esquimalt Policing and Law Enforcement Advisory Panel and the next steps for the Township’s vision of community policing.
On March 3rd the Township issued a Request for Proposals for the Provision of Policing Services to the City of Victoria, the District of Saanich and the RCMP. The RFP comes after several months of work by the Esquimalt Policing and Law Enforcement Advisory Panel to gather public input and conduct research on Township policing options. The Panel was formed in June 2010 as a result of an audit of the Victoria Police Department ordered by the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General.
“I want to stress that we value the work that VicPD has done for this community,” said Mayor Desjardins. “This is about the way in which policing services are delivered to the Township, not about the dedication of our police officers. Our residents have spoken and they have told us they want community-based decision-making around policing, the best possible policing for their tax dollars, and a dedicated patrol based in the municipality. We are responding to our community by entering into a process to ensure that their needs are being met” Mayor Desjardins added that Council is also unanimous in its support of the process to explore available alternatives in the delivery of police services to the community.
The Advisory Panel made recommendations to Council over the past several months and, working with Township staff, developed the Request for Proposal document. The Panel will submit a report to the Solicitor General and Director of Police Services Division in the coming months that makes recommendations on a new policing and law enforcement model.
For more information on the work of the Esquimalt Policing and Law Enforcement Advisory Panel, go to our Police Advisory Panel page.