Please see our Commenting Policy for more. The city has been funding two officers for four hours a day, seven days a week in a support role for the bylaw staff since the fall.
The new funding, which does not come from the existing police budget, will extend that support to March 31, when the city is aiming to have enough housing spaces to decamp the parks. Victoria Police Chief Del Manak brought the funding appeal to council Thursday, where he made the case that bylaw officers are being increasingly threatened by some people living in the camp. Incidents of conflict were on the rise, according to Manak, and police have recovered weapons from replica guns to a baseball bat embedded with razor blades and nails from the camps.
That presents a threatening environment for bylaw staff, whose role includes both checking on campers well-being and enforcing safety orders around things like fire hazards. Manak said police resources were already stretched, and that making bylaw call for help every time there was a problem would leave them idle and waiting while police responded.
Read more: Victoria council to debate giving free bus tickets, passes to the homeless. World Canada Local. Victoria bylaw staff patrolling homeless camps to keep police escort until April. Full Menu Search Menu. Close Local your local region National. Search Submit search Quick Search. Comments Close comments menu. Comments closed. Close X. Click to scroll back to top of the page Back to top. By Simon Little Global News. Posted February 19, pm. Updated February 19, pm. Smaller font Descrease article font size - A.
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