Victoria, BC – VicPD members had the privilege of being part of a very successful community-based meeting on public safety in Esquimalt last night.
In attendance were Esquimalt citizens, Township Councilors, Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board member Peter Ryan, Esquimalt Residents Association (ERA) Chair Raegan Elford, A/Chief Constable Del Manak, A/Inspector and Esquimalt Division Officer-in-Charge Jason Laidman, Sgt. Sean Plater, Special Victims Unit Sgt. Kristi Ross, Cst. Rae Robirtis, and Communications Coordinator Bowen Osoko were joined by representatives from Greater Victoria Victims Services, Restorative Justice Victoria, the Men’s Trauma Centre and the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre to discuss public safety concerns in the Township of Esquimalt.
The ERA approached Insp. Laidman about having a community conversation about safety in the wake of a report of a stranger sexual assault that occurred in High Rock /Cairn Park on September 20th, 2016. A suspect was arrested two days later and now faces charges in relation to the incident.
While stranger-based assaults are rare in both Victoria and Esquimalt, the incident caused concern and raised questions about what can be done to ensure Esquimalt continues to remain a safe and vibrant community.
With an ambitious agenda, the meeting touched on several areas in which residents and police can work together to continue to improve community safety. Part of the evening was spent speaking to specific resources VicPD offers to help, all of which are on our vicpd.ca website.
These include:
- Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design: Vicpd.ca/CPTED
- Crime Free Multi-Housing: Vicpd.ca/Crime-Free-multi-housing
- MobileVicPD App: Vicpd.ca/mobile
- CrimeReports Map: Vicpd.ca/Crime-Reports
- Online Crime Reporting Tool: Vicpd.ca/ReportCrimeOnline
- Block Watch: Vicpd.ca/Block-Watch
- The VicPD Bike Registry: Vicpd.ca/bike
- Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers: victoriacrimestoppers.ca/
For more information about E-TAG and the excellent work they do combatting graffiti visit: https://www.esquimalt.ca/business-development/etag
For more information on the Esquimalt Residents’ Association please check their website: esquimaltresidents.com/
Additional meetings will be held in conjunction with the upcoming VicPD Community Survey, which will be undertaken in 2017.
For more information about Esquimalt Programs, please call 250-995-7654, or drop by the Esquimalt Headquarters Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.