TOWNSHIP OF ESQUIMALT STAFF REPORT
MEETING DATE: January 13, 2025 Report No. ADM-25-004
TO: Council
FROM: Dan Horan, Chief Administrative Officer
SUBJECT: Policing Project Update - January 2025
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That report ADM-25-004 Policing Project Update - January 2025 be received for information, and that staff be directed to include project status updates to the Township website, the Council Priorities Plan, social media and other outlets including the Current newsletter.
Body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Staff continues to support Council’s exploration of a new policing model based on the establishment of an Esquimalt Police Department supported by specialized services provided by neighbouring police agencies.
The Township is currently operating under an extension to the Framework Agreement (in partnership with the City of Victoria and the Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board), which expires at end of 2025 but is extendable until end of 2026. Project work supported by consultants has provided initial analysis for Council consideration, but significant detailed planning is still required. Negotiations with potential partners, such as Victoria Police, Saanich Police, and Westshore RCMP, are a critical first step to ensuring the feasibility and effectiveness of any new model. A progress update from staff is expected in Q2 2025 to inform Council’s next steps.
BACKGROUND:
On February 27, 2024, Council considered a staff report entitled ‘Policing Models Options Analysis and Way Ahead’ (see Attachment 1 - Staff Report No. ADM-24-011). Council’s decision at that stage was to continue exploring the establishment of an Esquimalt Police Department with contracted out specific services similar to other regional municipal community policing models.
The current project to explore a new way ahead for policing in Esquimalt began in the 2018-2022 term of Council. The Community Policing Engagement Strategy was delivered in June 2022. The findings of that study indicated a desire from the community for Council to explore options for change in policing governance and service delivery in Esquimalt. Following inauguration of Council in 2022, consultants perivale+taylor were engaged to complete a Policing Service Delivery Model review to explore options for change. This work was completed in February 2024.
The Victoria Police department (VicPD) is the police of jurisdiction in Esquimalt, governed by the Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board. A Framework Agreement between the City of Victoria, the Township of Esquimalt and the Police Board captures governance, cost-sharing and accepted practices for working together to achieve public safety goals. The Township of Esquimalt took formal steps (in 2022) to opt out of the agreement after its expiration at the end of 2023. The parties to the Framework Agreement entered a time-limited extension period to provide both Esquimalt and Victoria the time to explore alternatives to the current arrangement, including a potential move to a new police department in Esquimalt should Council decide to take that step. The extension to the Framework Agreement is in effect until the end of 2025, with an option to extend for another year until the end of 2026.
ANALYSIS:
After Council’s decision to proceed, the CAO initiated the next phase of the policing project. (The Director of Community Safety Services position was vacant due to the retirement of the incumbent.) The initial work involved further developing conceptual transition plans outlined in the perivale+taylor report - the report describes that “…a significant amount of work remains, including consultation with stakeholders and the Province, to develop more detailed transition plans once a decision is made by Council on the most feasible and preferred policing model(s)” (see Attachment 2 - Policing Service Delivery Model Review, Appendix C, Conceptual Transition Plan of Policing Service Delivery Model Review).
The staff report provided by staff in February 2024 discusses the initial steps to be followed if Council decided to explore the option of working to establish an Esquimalt Police Department supported by a larger police department. The report describes that the first step would be that “…[a] formal request from Esquimalt to the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General would be sent, outlining the work done so far, the community engagement that has occurred, and the draft transition plan that would be explored should the process be approved.” At that time, staff believed that the perivale+taylor report was sufficient in detail to serve as a draft transition plan for the purposes of meeting this first step. Unfortunately, staff have since learned that a more fulsome transition plan is required before this first step can occur.
In April/May 2024, staff began the work to flesh out project plans that would capture the full scope and level of effort required to transition to a new police department. It is understood that these extensive transition plans are required by the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General before allowing the Township to proceed to next steps in a transition as described in the perivale+taylor report.
Some of the items required for a transition plan include (but are not limited to) the following:
• Detailed transition budgets and estimates
• Detailed facilities plan
• Outlines of specialized/operational equipment needs and procurement plans to acquire that equipment (vehicles, personal gear, weapons, etc.)
• Administrative/support staff needs and workspace requirements developed
• Support services agreements
• Development plan for Standard Operation Procedures
• Comprehensive recruitment and training plan
• Established criteria for initial and final operating capability
• Established labour relations strategy (people hiring and transition plan)
The perivale+taylor report describes a two-year transition period, with the first year “…comprising the negotiations, planning, budgeting, and developing strategies…” and the second year being “…the preparation leading to the implementation start with built-in fail-safe points.” A significant amount of work must occur before the year one work contemplated in the perivale+taylor report can begin. This extends the timelines and levels of effort involved in making progress on police model transitions.
In developing a project management plan for a police model transition, staff noted that the whole initiative hinges on the successful completion of one key activity: negotiating support services. As described in the reports, an Esquimalt Police Department would focus on patrol services, but would need to be supplemented by one or more larger police departments. This support would focus on some or all of the following capabilities: general investigative services (detectives), forensic identification services, computer forensic services, collision analysis, police dog, and detention (prisoners).
An agreement, or at least an agreement in principle, with one or more police agencies is necessary for Esquimalt to finalize any transition plans. The viability of a change in policing in Esquimalt depends on an effective agreement for specialized services. Council requires a thorough understanding of the scope and costs for such specialized services to make a decision about whether or not to proceed. The Province also needs a good understanding of Esquimalt’s agreement with a partner or partners in order to assess the viability of the proposed change. The Province’s mandate is to assess whether Esquimalt’s plans will result in “…an adequate and effective level of policing and law enforcement” in accordance with the Police Act.
The Mayor, on behalf of Council, has formally invited potential partners to participate in the exploration of potential agreements to provide services to supplement an Esquimalt PD. The potential partners include Victoria Police, Saanich Police and the Westshore RCMP.
The work with these partners has just begun. Staff is expecting to be able to report back to Council in Q2 of 2025 on the status of potential agreements and next steps for the project. This will likely be the first go/no-go decision for Council, as resources will need to be committed to further progress a transition plan.
OPTIONS:
The following options are available for Council’s consideration:
• That staff report ADM-25-004 Policing Project Update - January 2025 be received for information, and that staff be directed to include project status updates to the Township website, the Council Priorities Plan, social media and other outlets including the Current newsletter.
• That staff be provided alternative direction.
COUNCIL PRIORITY:
The first phase of the Police Service Model Transition project was completed in February 2024. The second phase of the Police Service Model Transition project is in the Council Priorities Plan under Engaged & Healthy Community.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The CAO engaged the services of a consultant (Ray Bernoties, former RCMP Chief Superintendent and Oak Bay PD Chief Constable) to support this phase of the police model transition, offsetting the costs with wage-related savings after the departure of the Director of Community Safety Services (due to retirement in March 2024). In preparation for the upcoming budget, project-related costs are expected to be included for Council consideration as budget supplementals.
COMMUNICATIONS/ENGAGEMENT:
One of the key recommendations in the Community Policing Engagement Strategy (completed in June 2022) is for Esquimalt to continue communications with residents and interested parties on the status of discussions and project progress through the Current newsletter, website updates and social media. Though aspects of the work completed so far occurred in closed session of Council (due to Section 90(1)(k) of the Community Charter), it is recommended that as much information as possible be provided to keep the public engaged and informed about this important project.
TIMELINES & NEXT STEPS:
Staff anticipate that discussions with representatives from VicPD, Saanich PD and Westshore RCMP will occur in the early part of 2025. Staff anticipate returning to Council with updates on the progress of this project in Q2 of 2025.
REPORT REVIEWED BY:
1. Ian Irvine, Director of Financial Services and Information Technology, Reviewed
2. Deb Hopkins, Director of Corporate Services, Reviewed
LIST OF ATTACHMENTS:
1. Attachment 1 - Staff Report No. ADM-24-011 Policing Models Options Analysis and Way Ahead, February 27, 2024
2. Attachment 2 - Policing Service Delivery Model Review, perivale+taylor consulting, December 2023.