The current structure of policing in the Capital Region permits individual municipalities to maintain control of their own police costs.
The amalgamation of police departments will drive up long-term costs, due to the expense of providing equal services to a wider area, and result in higher labour costs thanks to a larger, more powerful police union.
For those municipalities that are thriving, such as Oak Bay, Saanich and Langford, they will have a hard time overcoming the questions raised when understanding the rationale argued by pro-merger Victoria: systemic problems within VicPD and the city’s budgeting, the distinction between amalgamation and absorption, and the driving forces behind mergers.
William Perry
Victoria