The city of Victoria says that it will address the “public disorder” in the city center through a reallocation of several steps of $ 10.35 million in funds in the city, with the largest budget element that will be spent in the police and the application of the law.
“I have no doubt that this is the most important decision that the Council has discussed,” said Mayor Marianne Alto at a press conference on Wednesday.
“We must do this. We must.”
The funds are the first steps for the community security and well-being plan, part of the Strategic Plan 2023-2026 of the city, which was supported by the municipal councilors in June.
The announcement occurs immediately after a series of violent incidents throughout the city within a period of 12 hours on Sunday.
Police said in a statement on Monday that the owner of a business was attacked by a man unknown to him around 6 pm on Yates Street.
That man is the owner of the Tyson Schley bicycle store, who said in a written statement to CBC News that local politicians need federal and provincial help to address crime in Victoria.
“These guys know they can do what they want, and I have been a victim of it,” said Schley.
The man was arrested shortly after the attack and detained by the Victoria Police, but then he was released in conditions, police said in the statement.
On Sunday morning, a man with a weapon threatened the building of the Victoria Fire Department in Queens Avenue, preventing firefighters from entering the building to attend a possible fire. He was subsequently arrested, police said.
Another “stranger attack in which he extends” on Yates Street on Sunday involved a man who assaulted a victim with a “surpassed weapon,” said Manek.
The victim “ran into London’s drugs to seek refuge for his security,” said Manek, and the attacker was subsequently arrested and was arrested waiting for a judicial hearing.
The city will spend $ 1.9 million from the budget of the plan to hire a dozen statute staff, with an approach to deploy in Pandora, Princess and the city center and work to complement police officers in the area, he said Wednesday in a statement.
The Victoria Police Department will receive $ 1.35 million to hire nine new police officers, as well as a unique payment of $ 220,000 by the city of Victoria to coincide with the Safety and Control of Compliance Program of the province of British Columbia (C-Step). The city says that it will invest $ 1.35 million more annually in the Victoria Police Budget
The plan also includes more temporary housing solutions, with redirected funds from other budget areas.
While the city is accelerating parts of the security and well -being plan after several police incidents during the weekend of Canada, Alto says that the plan is not reactionary.
“What he is listening and seeing today is a very intentional and reflective plan that he has been filtering for months,” said Alto.
Victoria’s resident, Sasha Santana, says she is happy that there is a plan to address violence in the city.
Santana says she has lived in the city during the last five years and believes that insecure situations have been increasing.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s 12 in the afternoon or at night, I’ve been in situations that feel insecure,” said Santana.
“I think there are many different aspects, mental health, use of substances, those communities that do not receive adequate support and also people who do not know how to navigate it … only increases,” said Santana.
‘I have been a victim of it’
The Victoria Chief of the Manak says that it is a welcome ad, and that the Victoria Police Department has been remembered for many years.
“The Victoria Police Department is 44 officers, given the growth of the population we have seen in the last issue of years,” Manak said.
Manak says he will present an aggressive recruitment and hiring plan to fill vacancies as quickly as possible. The new officers will concentrate on areas around Pandora, Princess and the Center.
The city of Victoria held an earlier press conference this morning to address public security concerns and city plan to address them. Mayor Marianne Alto went to a series of violent incidents that the city has seen in recent days and gave an update on the city’s community security plan.
Alto says that the funds for the community security and well -being plan include dollars that will be seen in upstream services in the hope of mitigating the need for surveillance, including investments in temporary homes.
The Plan includes $ 624,000 in additional support for existing non -profit organizations to expand existing relocation services, but does not specify which non -profit organizations will receive funds.
In addition, the city will investigate and establish new short -term shelter options, including $ 1.95 million for up to two emergency refuge spaces, insurance and short term, $ 850,000 for operations and $ 300,000 for real estate rentals.
“If we did not temporarily interview at least for a couple of years … they are [unhoused persons] I’m just going to languish where they are, “said Alto.
Other funds will be assigned to rehabilitate public infrastructure in the focus areas and create a transport plan to evaluate and transport non -vegetable people to services outside the center.
Victoria’s resident, Priyanka Singh, says that although she agrees that there has been an increase in security problems in the city, she sees it as a more holistic problem.
“I don’t see it as a security problem,” said Singh.
“I see it as empathy and compassion, the way in which these people can be treated and how we can prevent this.”
