Chorus grows louder in schools to bring back police liaison officers

Greater Victoria school board chairman says: “We’re just hearing so loudly from our schools that ‘We’ve got to do something about this’ ”

The Greater Victoria school board has added its voice to those calling for the reinstatement of police liaison officers at schools in Victoria and Esquimalt.

Jordan Watters, who chairs the board, says in a letter to Esquimalt council that the ongoing absence of liaison officers in schools will have “negative long-ranging impacts.”

She acknowledges that councils have difficult decisions to make, but says the board wanted to highlight the officers’ importance to the school system.

“We’re just hearing so loudly from our schools that ‘We’ve got to do something about this,’ ” Watters said in an interview. “So we’re really trying to amplify their voices as much as possible by letting people know the type of impact [the officers] have.”

Watters said the redeployment of school liaison officers means students, staff and families have lost a connection to trusted individuals that they can call if a difficult situation arises.

“They can help if there’s, heaven forbid, sexual abuse or something like that,” she said. “They’re able to really help these students along and develop a relationship over time to help them work their way through the system. So without that, it creates a real gap.”

The board’s letter follows similar correspondence from the Greater Victoria Teachers’ Association warning that vulnerable students are at risk because of the officers’ removal.

Victoria Police Chief Del Manak shifted three school liaison officers to the front lines at the end of the 2017-18 school year after Esquimalt council thwarted the hiring of six more officers by refusing to cover its $40,778 share of the increase.

Esquimalt pays about 15 per cent of the police budget and Victoria picks up the rest.

The province is still reviewing the issue and could order Esquimalt to pay for the officers. A decision is expected early in the new year.

Meanwhile, Manak is seeking a six per cent budget increase in 2019 to add six officers and one civilian to reinforce his front lines, fight cyber crime and boost traffic enforcement.

Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins said Friday that the loss of the liaison officers is a “challenging” issue and one that she’s taking seriously in her dual roles as mayor and co-chair of the Victoria police board.

“We’re listening and hearing how important this is to the community,” she said.

Desjardins noted that, as a physiotherapist, she has always placed a high priority on preventing injuries.

“To me, school liaison officers are preventative for crime in the future,” she said.

“We get better relationships with our young folk [and] police officers. There’s a better understanding of the assistance they provide. It takes away the fear, increases the opportunity to ask [for] help.”

Watters said she sent a copy of her letter to Victoria city council as well in hopes of getting the officers reinstated.

“It’s so valuable to have those trusted, skilled, familiar faces in the schools,” she said.

“They’ve certainly made an impression on the people that they serve in our schools. So it would be great to see them back doing that work.”