BC Police Association President, Tom Stamatakis, welcomes the decision by BC Justice Minister Shirley Bond that the amalgamation of policing services of Victoria and Esquimalt will continue and be strengthened.
Bond says the province has accepted the report of an independent mediator on policing in the City of Victoria and the Township of Esquimalt and will be moving forward to make improvements in the existing arrangement rather than replacing the policing services currently provided by Victoria with the RCMP.
Stamatakis says this is welcome news, and congratulated Bond on making “a measured decision that is in the best interests of the two communities”.
“We know there are a range of views in those two communities and we recognize that Esquimalt has legitimate concerns that should be addressed,” says Stamatakis, who pledges that the BCPA will do whatever it can to assist in ensuring the strengthening and improvement of policing services in Esquimalt and Victoria.
The British Columbia Police Association represents approximately 2,700 members of the province’s 11 municipal police services and the South Coast BC Transit Association police service.