Community policing is serious business, but there鈥檚 nothing like a little levity to make a discussion of law enforcement as entertaining as it is instructive.
Victoria police Chief Frank Elsner demonstrated this Wednesday night in Esquimalt council chambers. During his detailed presentation on results of surveys VicPD conducted last year, Elsner explained why he looked a little different.
He had applied some lip balm, not realizing until later that it was his daughter鈥檚 acne medication, he confessed, prompting laughter from a crowd of 50.
There were more laughs when someone, poking fun at the cops-and-doughnuts clich茅, quipped: 鈥淲here are the doughnuts?鈥� while surveying a spread of coffee and cookies.
Tim Morrison, the Esquimalt councillor skewered by American satirist Stephen Colbert on the former The Colbert Report, even gamely agreed to reflect on that 鈥渕onumental experience鈥� and Colbert鈥檚 upcoming new CBS talk show. Colbert had roasted Morrison for his stand against Bongy, the Bong Warehouse mascot.
鈥淢y goal is to maybe get on his new show one day. It鈥檚 good to stand out in the crowd,鈥� said Morrison with a laugh during a break. 鈥淢aybe it will be twice in one lifetime. It probably got me re-elected.鈥�
Before addressing his audience, Elsner said Esquimalt鈥檚 reputation as a high-crime region is undeserved.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know where it comes from, because Esquimalt is a great community,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have a lineup of officers wanting to come and work here. I think that鈥檚 indicative of how good a place it is for officers who want that opportunity to come in and do some proactive community-based initiatives. A lot of times, in the downtown core of Victoria, for example, officers don鈥檛 have the time to do that.鈥�
Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins said she welcomed the opportunity for residents to hear Elsner鈥檚 report on 鈥渢he highs, the lows, what we do well and what are the concerns,鈥� based on input from residents and the business community in Victoria and Esquimalt. With the community鈥檚 strategic-planning sessions nearing completion, the timing was ideal, she said.
鈥淎ll this information gets rolled into that,鈥� Desjardins said. 鈥淭he great thing about Esquimalt [residents] is they鈥檝e always been actively involved in their policing and they want to be a part of it through Block Watch, ETAG [Esquimalt Together Against Graffiti] and so on. Our residents are saying 鈥榃e want to help you guys鈥� and this is another way of making the connection to do that.鈥�
VicPD spokesman Const. Mike Russell said the importance of such events uniting officers and the community they serve can鈥檛 be underestimated.
鈥淚t goes back to [Sir Robert] Peel鈥檚 principles,鈥� he said. 鈥淧olice are the community and the community are the police, and that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e doing, coming to the community to ask what we need to improve on.鈥�
One example of community engagement is VicPD鈥檚 volunteer Crime Watch program, which has 88 volunteers, including 22 front deskers and 10 program and project assistants.
The new Esquimalt division commander, Insp. Colin Watson, said he鈥檚 impressed with the friendliness of locals who wear their civic pride like 鈥渁 badge of honour鈥� and the 鈥渃ommunity intelligence鈥� they can provide.
Noting 鈥渢here鈥檚 a disconnect between where and when residents feel safe,鈥� Watson said his immediate goal is to set priorities that survey results suggest include higher visibility and more criminal investigations. 鈥淚 believe Esquimalt is a really safe community,鈥� said the new commander. 鈥淲e want to make sure it stays that way now that we have a dedicated Esquimalt division.鈥�
For survey results, go to vicpd.ca.
