Victoria Police Department

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• Victoria Police Department
• Resource Requirements 2008

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Resource Requirements 2008

• The purpose of this presentation is to provide
  justification for the Police Departments 2008
  budget request.
• The Department is facing many challenges, the
  most critical is a shortage of human resources.
• This budget focuses solely on adding operational
  front-line resources.

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Budget Request 2008

• Request to increase the Police budget by
• 3,938,000
• Esquimalts share of the increase would be
  588,011 (3.21 tax increase)
• Victorias share would be 3,349,989 (4.14 tax
  increase)

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Budget Request 2008

• Additional 19 Officers and the required equipment
  and support
• 2,280,000
• Impact of Negotiated Wage Increases
• 1,518,000
• Increasing the Communications budget to
  adequately resource and train staff in that
  Section
• 250,000
• Increased revenues
• (110,000)

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Budget History Setting the Record Straight

• There is a perception that in the past few years
  this Police Department
• Has received higher budget increases compared to
  other departments,
• is excessively costly, and
• has significantly increased the number of police
  officers within its ranks.
• None of this is true.

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Setting the Record Straight Historical Budget
Increases

• BC Police Services statistics
• Total BC Police budgets (30)
• Or 76.3 million from 2002 to 2006
• This Department only 5.4 million which is
  20, well below the provincial average.

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Setting the Record Straight Historical Budget
Increases

• VPD 2003 to 2007 budgets 18.
• Police wages 16
• Result no room for other inflationary items.
• False - The 2008 police budget if approved would
  translate into a 30 increase over the past two
  years.
• True - This proposed budget would result in a
  33 increase over five years (since 2003) close
  to the provincial average.

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Setting the Record Straight Historical Budget
Increases

• Esquimalt Police budget 2002
• 3,948,146
• 2002 to 2006 Oak Bay, Saanich and Central Saanich
  average 17 budget increase.
• Esquimalt based on same percentage
  4,619,331
• Actual 2006 Esquimalt budget
• 4,540,970

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Setting the Record Straight Cost

• It is true that policing is a major cost for any
  municipality.
• However, the cost of policing Victoria and
  Esquimalt is not significantly different from
  other municipal departments in BC.
• One measure of cost is the cost per member.

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Setting the Record Straight Cost Per Member

• 2006 BC average cost per member 148,941
• VPD cost per member
• 149,357
• Only 416 per member higher than the BC average

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Setting the Record Straight Cost Per Population

• True core policing causes Victoria/Esquimalt to
  incur highest cost per population in BC.
• 2002 BC average cost per population
• 214 per resident.
• 2002 cost per population
• Esquimalt 234
• Victoria 303

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Setting the Record Straight Cost Per Population

• 2006 BC average cost per population
• 273 per resident.
• 2006 the cost per population
• Esquimalt 261
• Victoria 362

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Setting the Record Straight Increase in Strength

• 2002 EPD/VPD combined strength
• 216 officers
• Today the amalgamated department
• 222 officers
• overall increase
• only 6 officers since 2002

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Setting the Record Straight Increase in Strength

• From 2002 to 2006, BC municipalities increased
  the overall strength of their forces by 194
  officers (10)
• This department had an increase in strength of 2
  

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Workload Facts

• True VPD consistently has the highest case load
  in BC and Canada
• 2006 BC average caseload
• 58 cases per officer
• Victoria/Esquimalt case load
• 78 cases per officer
• The highest case load in BC
• Fact - This Department would require 66 more
  officers to achieve the case load close to the
  provincial average of 58.

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Workload Facts

• Calls for service
• In the year 2006, when compared to other CRD
  municipal departments, Victoria/Esquimalt
• responded to 60 of the total calls for service
• A further breakdown reveals that this department
  responded to 65 of the priority 1 and 2 calls
  (Emergency and urgency calls)
• Workload exacerbated by the seriousness of those
  calls

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Long Term Planning

• We want to get our case load closer to average.
• Our goal is to achieve the 66 officer threshold.
• The Department is in the process of developing a
  long term strategy to address the future resource
  requirements, however, the current situation is
  critical, and in the short term an increase of
  officers is required immediately.

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Additional Police Officers

• The 2008 budget request is for an additional 19
  officers that would be deployed as follows
• 12 additional officers for the Focused
  Enforcement Team
• 3 new officers for the Integrated Regional Crime
  Unit
• 1 additional officer in the Sex Crimes Section
• 1 additional officer in Computer Forensics and
• 2 new officers as Youth Investigators.

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Environment

• The downtown core is home to most of this
  regions most problematic and vulnerable
  populations.
• Prolific drug users, the mentally ill and
  homeless people are damaging a vibrant, usable
  downtown.
• Must increase the perception of safety within the
  and provide much wanted increases in police
  visibility in Esquimalt.
• During June, July and August 2007 the Department
  reacted to 9,451 occurrences in our downtown core
  alone.
• No proactive ability within current strength.

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Deployment of officers

• Traffic officers redeployed June, July, August
  2007.
• Attached to new shift rotation that attached them
  with 14 bicycle officers.
• Results noticeably increased police visibility.
  
• 941 increase in ticketing enforcement in this
  geographic area.
• Substantial reductions in many offences.

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Deployment of Foot Patrols

• High strategic value
• foot patrols bolster public confidence
• enhance approachability
• huge deterrence to public order offences
• Additional officers needed to provide higher
  bicycle and special project visibility in
  Esquimalt.
• Regular patrols of beaches, parks and youth hot
  spots -an ongoing concern to citizens of
  Esquimalt.

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Innovative Staffing

• The success of the Downtown Summer Action Plan
  provided validation for our proposed staffing
  model.
• Placing additional resources on a 10-hour shift
  maximizes flexibility and more closely ties
  resources to demands.
• Proper strategic deployment maximizes outcomes
  while minimizing costs.
• High profile deployment generates enormous public
  support.

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Focused Enforcement Team

• 12 additional members needed 2 to replace the
  members who are already working on the Victoria
  Integrated Community Outreach Team, supporting
  the Mayors Task Force on Homelessness and
  Addictions.
• The remaining 10 members would be assigned to new
  dedicated foot patrol unit with a mandate to
  suppress street crime and pro-actively reduce the
  related call load on Patrol resources.
• This would be a direct response to the clearly
  articulated public concern that drugs remain the
  single greatest issue in our community.

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Integrated Regional Crime Unit

• A new Capital Regional Integrated Crime Unit
  (RCU) has been proposed to provide enhanced
  investigation of prolific offenders in the CRD.
• All the mayors in the CRD municipalities agreed
  to support this integrated unit which was
  initiated by the Solicitor General.
• The Victoria Police Department will be required
  to contribute 44 of the total operating budget.
• This equates to approx 3 police officers.
• This commitment is expected to double in 2009.

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Youth Investigators A Community Priority

• Ability to provide improved service delivery,
  increased monitoring of greatest at-risk youth
  and provide a crime reduction strategy.
• Identified priority in our public survey.

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Youth Section - Goals and Objectives

• Require 2 members
• Proactive -Provide an effective youth policing
  strategy that decreases violent youth crime.
• Reactive - When youth violence does occur, have
  the ability to conduct high-quality
  investigations and provide necessary follow-up
  after judicial proceedings have taken place.
• Strategic - Form needed partnerships with other
  youth justice professionals in the CRD to
  leverage our success.

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Sex Crimes Section

• There has been a dramatic increase in reported
  crimes involving children including child
  pornography.
• Members are now being asked to take on a greater
  proactive role in the justice system, ensuring
  that the Department meets its obligations
  regarding the National Sex Offender Registry and
  VICLAS.
• Biggest concern is staff burnout and liability.

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Sex Crimes Section

• Requesting one additional member
• The current status of the section doesn't afford
  the opportunity to do any pro active work in high
  risk areas such as
• Internet luring of juveniles
• Follow-up on sex-trade workers, one of our most
  vulnerable populations
• Active monitoring of offenders in the community
• Victim/witness management

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Computer Forensics

• Requesting one additional member.
• A second investigator will enable the section to
  respond quickly and efficiently as these calls
  come in.
• Delays in providing assistance to detectives are
  not acceptable if young victims are at risk, or
  if the investigative direction of serious crimes
  is affected.

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Options other than increased strength

• If our budget increase is denied, what are our
  options?
• Reducing levels of service and elimination of
  some existing services (call-shedding).
• In order to place officers into frontline
  policing roles, services that may have to be
  discontinued include
• Crime Prevention,
• School Liaison,
• Youth Outreach and the
• Street Crime Unit

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Consequences of not funding or delaying

• Social challenges continue to arise in the
  downtown core.
• The Vancouver Olympics will displace significant
  numbers of homeless into our community.
• Since 2004 calls for unwanted persons which are
  typically related to drug or alcohol use have
  increased by almost 100 calls per month a 90
  increase in the past three years.
• This category of calls places enormous pressure
  on our frontline resources and is an identified
  deterrent for exempt hiring.

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Conclusion

• The inability to attract and retain police
  officers.
• Esquimalt would have been facing same issues,
  this is not a core issue.
• Need for a long-term strategy and work together
  to develop plan of action for the future.
• Respectfully request you provide the budget
  increase required to fund important frontline
  resources just outlined.

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Conclusion

• QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS