Victoria police could have some form of presence in Greater Victoria School District schools before the end of this year, according to the chief constable.
Chief Del Manak said he is scheduled to meet next week with the chiefs of local First Nations and the new school board trustee to “talk about next steps.”
“I’m hopeful that before the end of this school year, that we’ll have some sort of police presence in school with support of the district,” Manak said, during a quarterly update to Victoria council on Thursday.
He added that he spoke to the superintendent yesterday on another matter and that “she’s extremely pleased and excited to move forward and work with the rights holders, work with our Indigenous leaders and other community advocates to come up with a program that we think is going to work for everyone.”
At the end of January, Education Minister Lisa Beare dismissed the members of the Greater Victoria School Board, saying the board had lost the trust of the public.
The firing followed a dispute over the board’s May 2023 decision to cancel the school police liaison program in the district.
When she announced the firing, Beare said the district had seen an “alarming increase” in gang activity in schools, and area police chiefs had been raising concerns.
Sherri Bell, a former district superintendent and Camosun College president, was appointed as trustee to carry out the board’s duties until the next school board elections in 2026.
Manak said the police and the police board have done a lot of work to put together a plan of action, and they feel they are close to a working model for some form of a school liaison officer program.
Manak strongly opposed the school board’s decision to scrap the program, pointing to gang activity on the rise and recruitment at schools.
The liaison program hadn’t been run by Victoria police since 2018 due to budget cuts, but Manak, a former school-liaison officer himself, had been hoping to have it reinstated.
Manak also told council on Thursday that police have been targeting repeat offenders and addressing street disorder downtown.
The police chief noted reports of social disorder have been steadily increasing and remain higher than this time last year.
He said the focus on increasing the department’s presence downtown, with officers on bikes and walking a beat, has made a difference — both as a visible deterrent and in addressing some of the street disorder by moving people along from parts of downtown.
“Our officers love being out in the community, interacting with citizens, with business owners and shopkeepers and it’s so well received,” he said.
Manak told council it can be challenging to deal with some of the downtown disorder, as many people involved have nowhere to go.
“Sometimes they might leave, but then they’ll set up half a block down or a block down,” he said. “Of course we can’t escort people all day long. We try to get co-operation, we try to move people along and we try to send them to a place that is going to be less intrusive and [have] less impact to the community.”
He downplayed the impact of the displacement caused by moving people from makeshift camps along Pandora Avenue and Ellice Street.
