The province has introduced legislation that would force municipalities to participate in integrated police units that investigate crimes across jurisdictions. The move comes months after some key specialized units in Greater Victoria, including the Regional Crime Unit, fell apart because of budget constraints and lack of co-operation.
Justice Minister Suzanne Anton could not say if the legislation would set out a funding formula for how many officers or how much money municipalities would have to contribute to each integrated unit.
The change, the province said, is in response to recommendations made by commissioner Wally Oppal in the Missing Women Inquiry regarding better co-ordination of policing across multiple jurisdictions.
But critics say if the province is moving on recommendations from the inquiry, it should go a step further and force Greater Victoria’s seven police departments to merge into one regional force. Oppal had recommended a single police department for Metro Vancouver after the inquiry determined serial killer Robert Pickton was able to evade arrest for years because police departments weren’t sharing information.
“If you’re going to force [municipalities] to go into integrated units, then why not force amalgamation of police departments and do a better job of it?” said Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin, adding he’s glad the province is taking leadership, but it needs to go further. “We know that the most effective and most efficient model for policing and emergency services is amalgamated units.”
Anton reiterated her stance that the province will not force the police departments to amalgamate.
Simon Fraser University criminologist Robert Gordon, who has long pushed for regional police departments in B.C., said the proposed changes prove there’s no political will to do anything about the “disorganization” of police in the province.
“Certainly this is nowhere near what Wally Oppal envisaged,” Gordon said. “So to try to say that this is answering the recommendation in the Oppal report is misleading in the extreme.”
Saanich Mayor Frank Leonard welcomed the proposed changes, however. “It’s all about making integration work and that’s what we’ve been asking for,” he said.
The tenuous nature of the integrated units was highlighted this summer when it was announced the Regional Crime Unit and the dive team were disbanding.
Despite many successes in nabbing the region’s most prolific offenders, the Regional Crime Unit was weakened as municipalities pulled out, citing budget constraints. Victoria police’s withdrawal in 2009 was the biggest hit to the unit. Central Saanich, North Saanich and Sidney eventually followed suit and, in May, Saanich pulled the plug, saying the Regional Crime Unit was “limping along” with just Saanich and the RCMP contributing staff.
This summer, the province’s police services division completed a review of integrated units in Greater Victoria. It was an inventory of each unit, including who pays for what, but it did not look at the issue of police amalgamation and made no recommendations for change.
Esquimalt Coun. David Hodgins, who runs a public-safety consulting business, said the changes are dressed up to look like the province is taking action on policing issues, while maintaining the status quo.
“This is their way to be able to stand up and say: ‘We’ve done something to address this need for integration,’ but have they?” said Hodgins. “I don’t think there will be much change really, unless there’s some teeth in the legislation and the province does something concrete in terms of an action.”
