New fractures in regional policing are taking the capital region backwards at the expense of overall community safety and consistency in service, Victoria Police Chief Del Manak said Saturday.
West Shore RCMP have announced they will pull out of three regional policing units dealing with intimate partner domestic violence, at‑risk young people and a mobile crisis response team focused on mental health. They will leave the regional youth and mental health teams at the end of 2025 and the domestic violence team at the end of 2026. The moves will improve policing for the West Shore, the RCMP say.
“It’s disappointing to see that people are doubling down and creating their own areas of expertise at the expense of having a regional approach when we know we live in a region not just within one municipality,” Manak said.
“I don’t support the fact that police agencies are deciding to separate and to provide the best service they can only for their residents.”
Manak said a regional approach delivers better continuity of service and better ability to build trust and relationships.” You have less risk in a potential police incident or police investigation of falling through the cracks.”
A regional approach is needed because people move around a lot more, especially when it comes to intimate partner violence, he said. People will move from relationship to relationship but what doesn’t change is their pattern of behaviour or violence.
The regional domestic violence team was established in 2010 following the 2007 murder of six-year-old Christian Lee at the hands of his father Peter Lee, who also killed his wife Sunny Park and her parents in Oak Bay and then took his own life.
In the weeks before the murders, Sunny Park complained about domestic violence to three municipal police departments.
A review found that the boy’s death was preventable if there had been a co-ordinated system for dealing with domestic violence.
It makes sense to have one regional unit with accountability to the community which is case-managing high-risk individuals, Manak said.
Citizens want a unified collective service available to respond regardless of where a criminal offence took place or where an intervention by police may be required, he said.
The regional mobile youth services team works with young people who may move frequently within the region. They may be exploited, addicted to drugs and have mental health challenges.
That team brings familiar trusted faces to help stabilize youth in a healthy safe environment. Without that, they could be left to navigate partner organizations, counsellors and multiple police officers, Manak said.
He fears opting out of services could lead to different levels of service being offered in different jurisdictions. “I don’t think that’s moving forward, and I don’t think that’s in the best interest of what I would call overall community safety.”
West Shore RCMP’s decision was made without consulting regional police departments, Manak said. Central Saanich is also opting out of regional teams in 2025.
Costs will rise for remaining members when partners leave regional teams, he said.
Victoria Women’s Transition House Society said it is “regretful” West Shore RCMP will be leaving the regional domestic violence unit, which works well.
That unit “was created in 2010 in response to a gap in cross-jurisdictional collaboration and co-ordination of the highest risk cases of intimate partner violence across the region,” said Susan Howard, development and communication director.
West Shore RCMP said it has set up its own similar services which are proving effective within its rapidly growing region as it strives to make the best use of money available.
View Royal Mayor Sid Tobias does not expect to see gaps in services under the opting out plans and anticipates further innovation in policing solutions. “It quite simply is focused on delivery that would be tailored to meet the needs of communities in the West Shore.
“Few other police services have what has evolved recently in the West Shore RCMP with the mental health and substance abuse unit.”
West Shore RCMP Superintendent Todd Preston said a rapidly growing population in the West Shore has created a need for enhanced policing services. “Staying on top of current trends and community needs is a top priority for our detachment, therefore, re-investing our resources to support existing and new West Shore RCMP units will better service our communities.”
West Shore RCMP contribute $74,345 per year to the mobile crisis response team, it pays $37,349 for the youth services team, and $121,827, plus $115,350 (the salary of one constable), to be part of the domestic violence unit.
It started its own mental health unit in February, not only duplicating service but exceeding what was provided regionally, Preston said.
As of July, it had responded to 513 out of 944 mental health calls for service. In comparison the regional unit responded to only 35 calls for service in the West Shore between January 2023 and July 2024, he said.
The regional mobile youth unit responded to only 15 calls for service in the West Shore between January 2023 and July 2024, Preston said
It has one police officer and one social worker shared among six police agencies in the region, he said.
The West Shore RCMP has its own youth outreach officer who teams up with a Pacific Centre Family Services Association counsellor. The team is backed by the community policing unit, which works in schools.
West Shore RCMP created an intimate partner violence investigator position in the spring and will expand to two full-time officers in spring 2026, Preston said.
The new intimate-partner violence unit will be supported by the existing special victims unit, made up of four officer as well as an investigative support team anticipated to be operating in November with five officers, he said.
In Saanich, “we are currently assessing what the West Shore RCMP’s decision will mean for our department, and may have more to say at a later date,” Jason Hollman, Saanich police spokesperson, said Saturday. The Saanich police recognizes the value regional police units provide to the safety and security of Saanich residents, he said.
Esquimalt Mayor Barb Dejardins said as the cost of policing continues to rise, agencies are looking at value for dollar and recognizes the growth taking place in the West Shore. Some municipalities used the regional teams a lot while other haven’t done so, she said.
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