Victoria Police ready for next phase of Pandora-Ellice Safety Plan

VicPD says conditions have improved on Pandora Ave. and Ellice St. after two months of increased policing that followed a July 11 assault, when a paramedic was kicked in the face while answering a call in the 900-block of Pandora. Since that incident, firefighters and paramedics have been attending calls on the block with a police escort. These escorts will no longer be required according to Jamie McRae, VicPD’s deputy chief of operations, who says paramedics and the fire department “felt it was no longer necessary.”

“They felt, after a number of weeks where our safety plan was in place, we had improved safety in those areas,” McRae said. Emergency response services still call for police help “occasionally” but it will not be standard procedure moving forward.

McRae said VicPD’s safety plan has focused specifically on targeting crime in the area, arresting 50 people—including 10 wanted on warrants—and confiscating weapons and illicit drugs.

VicPD also stated in a release that “there has been a high level of cooperation and emphasis on rebuilding relationships with the street community since the plan began” nine weeks ago.

The reduction in crime and encampment size marks the end of Phase 2 in VicPD’s Pandora-Ellice Safety Plan and the police are ready to move to Phase 3 where no camping will be permitted on Pandora, McRae said.

Speaking at a VicPD news conference, McRae said police will “take a step back from the leadership role” and are waiting for the greenlight from other partners, including city bylaw, BC Housing, Island Health and local outreach organizations before moving onto Phase 3.

“While we're absolutely a partner and we will be there, it is going to be up to those other partner agencies to then take the lead role and start providing [housing options],” McRae said.

Victoria Mayor Marrianne Alto said the police “are part of a very large coalition of folks who are at various tables” to devise a plan for Pandora and Ellice, as well as other areas in the city where encampments appear.

Alto said the city is working with individuals on Pandora on a one-to-one basis to determine what type of housing best suits their needs. An increase in shelter beds funded by the province was recently announced, with 20 new beds made available immediately and another 52 set to roll out “very quickly” according to Alto. The shelter beds will be provided by Our Place Society and the Salvation Army.

Alto said when you add up the number of beds or housing options available or that will become available soon, “you're going to see that, comparatively speaking, should deal with most, if not all, of the people who are currently identified on Pandora.”

“It doesn't make any sense to just arbitrarily move people—they're going to go somewhere,” Alto said. “These are people, and they require a place to live and to sleep and to do all of the things that you and I would do.”

McRae said providing the same housing model to every person on Pandora is not effective, with some people who have access to government housing still choosing to camp on Pandora. This is, in part, why moving into Phase 3 does not have a concrete timeline, as outreach workers continue to assess individual needs. Finding the right housing, according to Alto, will be more effective in the long run.

“When they take the time to work one-on-one with individuals to find out what will work for them and what support they may need—and they find them—not only do they find housing, but they stay in housing, and that's really the most important measure,” Alto said.