Victoria BC– Today, Chief Del Manak announced at news conference that as a result of the failure to secure funding for six new officer positions, VicPD is reassigning six officer positions to frontline duties. These positions are:
- 3 School Liaison Constables
- 1 Analysis and Intelligence Constable
- 1 Reserve Program Constable
- 1 Community Services Division Beat Constable
This redeployment will eliminate the School Liaison Officer role entirely, reduce the sworn officer Analysis and Intelligence capacity by one half, and restructure the Reserve Constable Program.
Four of the officers will be moved to the Patrol Division, while two will be moved to the Alternate Response Unit (ARU). The ARU provides immediate response by taking lower priority calls for service over the phone, reducing the need to physically dispatch an officer to these calls while improving call response times for citizens.
“My preference is to not reallocate any positions and to continue providing the full range of policing services that our citizens expect,” Chief Manak said. “However, the demands placed on our frontline officers require us to take action now. Citizens expect that when they call 911, an officer will arrive to help them within a short period of time. Without this change, we cannot maintain that basic level of service.”
Despite the increased demands placed on our officers, VicPD has not received an increase in police officers for eight years. In its 2018 budget, VicPD therefore requested funding for six officers but this request was denied.
All of the affected officers have been notified of the change in their duties. These positions were chosen for redeployment based on organizational and community risk, both in the immediate and long-term.
“I know how valuable our School Resource Officers are,” Chief Manak said. “As a parent and as police chief, I don’t need to be convinced of the important role they play in our schools. Even with that knowledge, I am transferring them to frontline policing to ensure we maintain the call response that our citizens expect in a sustainable way.”
The transitions are anticipated to take place by the end of June.
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