School officials and police have put their heads together to deal with concerns about groups of youths causing problems in downtown Victoria.
The level of youth-related violence seen on city streets of late has been unprecedented, with Victoria police saying most of those involved are under 18.
Social media platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok have been the rallying points.
Saanich School District superintendent Dave Eberwein said all three Victoria-area school jurisdictions are working with police to put out a common message to students.
Addressing Victoria City Council on Thursday, Victoria Police Chief Del Manak admitted cancelling the school liaison program in 2018 was a mistake. He said liaison officers are often the first line of defence in preventing students from falling into criminal behaviour or heading off other crises.
“I regretted cancelling the school liaison program at the time I cancelled it,” he told councillors. “I regretted shutting down our crime reduction unit, which was targeting prolific property offenders. But I had no choice. We needed officers on our front lines.”
Manak said the department has been dealing with an ongoing staff shortage. “It was the right decision at the time, but I did it because I had to do it,” he said. “Our goal is always to actually work with our schools because there is a gap.”
Manak told councillors that some of the youth officers have dealt with in recent weeks have referred to the school officers and suggested no longer having those relationships in school has left a hole.
“It does impact youth, and it does build positive relationships,” Manak said. “And our officers are able to engage at a level where perhaps we can prevent some of this. So, would I like to see the school officers back, yes. Are we working to hire as many officers as we can, as quickly as we can? That is a work that’s in progress.”
Eberwein said he sent out a note Wednesday to all secondary-school parents in his district stressing such steps as talking to children about how to stay safe.
“We don’t want them to be where they find themselves in a dangerous or unlawful situation,” he said.
Aaron Norris, principal of Reynolds Secondary in the Greater Victoria School District, noted in a statement that there are safe ways for youth to congregate. “Our community partners provide a range of social activities that include healthy opportunities for positive social interactions and connections,” Norris said.
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