Stephen Harrison
@stephenharrison.bsky.social
Victoria, B.C. needsmorespikes.com
The idea that nobody has ever suggested specific police budget items to cut is also insulting. It's 1) not true; and 2) if councillors are worried about runaway policing costs, they too can find items to reject within that $90 million. Perhaps they could even use city resources to help.
November 8, 2025 at 4:55 AM
The idea that nobody has ever suggested specific police budget items to cut is also insulting. It's 1) not true; and 2) if councillors are worried about runaway policing costs, they too can find items to reject within that $90 million. Perhaps they could even use city resources to help.
This is a frustrating narrative advanced by some councillors. Under the current council's term, Victoria and Esquimalt axed $902,000 from VicPD's 2023 budget, a 45% success rate that year. Pretty good! The province found VicPD couldn't justify those costs. But it meant councillors had to try. #yyj
November 8, 2025 at 4:55 AM
This is a frustrating narrative advanced by some councillors. Under the current council's term, Victoria and Esquimalt axed $902,000 from VicPD's 2023 budget, a 45% success rate that year. Pretty good! The province found VicPD couldn't justify those costs. But it meant councillors had to try. #yyj
Yesterday's Last Week Tonight speaking to my interest in dead former premiers.
November 4, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Yesterday's Last Week Tonight speaking to my interest in dead former premiers.
VicPD spent $13,750 on the venue, including catering, and $4,097 in staffing costs, trucking in officers "beyond their regularly scheduled duties" and paying them OT. They also shuttled their people to the event, and spent money to stream it, even though they don't stream their own budget meetings.
October 29, 2025 at 2:43 AM
VicPD spent $13,750 on the venue, including catering, and $4,097 in staffing costs, trucking in officers "beyond their regularly scheduled duties" and paying them OT. They also shuttled their people to the event, and spent money to stream it, even though they don't stream their own budget meetings.
I think that's the MLA pin (become an MLA, get a pin, people in the legislature know you're an MLA… something like that). Here are two others with it (picked at random from www.leg.bc.ca/members although they're not all wearing it) lims.leg.bc.ca/public/image... lims.leg.bc.ca/public/image...
October 25, 2025 at 4:20 AM
I think that's the MLA pin (become an MLA, get a pin, people in the legislature know you're an MLA… something like that). Here are two others with it (picked at random from www.leg.bc.ca/members although they're not all wearing it) lims.leg.bc.ca/public/image... lims.leg.bc.ca/public/image...
VicPD has also projected 5 years into the future. It’s a bit useless because they didn’t add up the totals, and it doesn’t include new projects/spending. I tried to add it up, and it looks like VicPD will want at least $99 million in 2027, and $115 million by 2030. The actual numbers will be higher.
October 22, 2025 at 11:08 PM
VicPD has also projected 5 years into the future. It’s a bit useless because they didn’t add up the totals, and it doesn’t include new projects/spending. I tried to add it up, and it looks like VicPD will want at least $99 million in 2027, and $115 million by 2030. The actual numbers will be higher.
VicPD consulted on this budget with: a police-affiliated group; neighbourhood assoc's; and business reps. Concerns: “perceptions of crime” (crime is down); homelessness (not a crime); and how to jail more people sans convictions, a rightwing idea supported by police, the BC NDP and federal Liberals.
October 22, 2025 at 11:08 PM
VicPD consulted on this budget with: a police-affiliated group; neighbourhood assoc's; and business reps. Concerns: “perceptions of crime” (crime is down); homelessness (not a crime); and how to jail more people sans convictions, a rightwing idea supported by police, the BC NDP and federal Liberals.
VicPD has also stolen the PACT acronym for its own program. I know PACT as a Peer Assisted Care Team, e.g., the non-police response crisis line via AVI. VicPD’s PACT is about embedding officers in communities. Unlike VicPD, a real PACT won’t hurt or kill people in crisis. avi.org/service/crcl/
October 22, 2025 at 11:08 PM
VicPD has also stolen the PACT acronym for its own program. I know PACT as a Peer Assisted Care Team, e.g., the non-police response crisis line via AVI. VicPD’s PACT is about embedding officers in communities. Unlike VicPD, a real PACT won’t hurt or kill people in crisis. avi.org/service/crcl/
Some budget oddities VicPD is framing as exciting. 1) They’re paying for “an internally hosted … AI system.” They don’t say what it is. They’re also paying for “virtual reality” taser training. What actually keeps people safe from tasers is no tasers. Don’t involve police in mental health response!
October 22, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Some budget oddities VicPD is framing as exciting. 1) They’re paying for “an internally hosted … AI system.” They don’t say what it is. They’re also paying for “virtual reality” taser training. What actually keeps people safe from tasers is no tasers. Don’t involve police in mental health response!
VicPD’s draft budget exploits an OPCC report to try to get bodycams back on the agenda, with at least $50,000 in spending in 2027 (not 2026). Bodycams don’t keep people safe. They’re a money pit that will suck up millions in perpetuity, and we will only see footage when it serves the police.
October 22, 2025 at 11:08 PM
VicPD’s draft budget exploits an OPCC report to try to get bodycams back on the agenda, with at least $50,000 in spending in 2027 (not 2026). Bodycams don’t keep people safe. They’re a money pit that will suck up millions in perpetuity, and we will only see footage when it serves the police.
I should say those officers would “notionally” be assigned to traffic work, because VicPD can always reassign them elsewhere. Case in point, there’s $511,000 on the books now for school liaison officers, but it’s officers who have ostensibly been “redeployed.” It’s all a shell game.
October 22, 2025 at 11:08 PM
I should say those officers would “notionally” be assigned to traffic work, because VicPD can always reassign them elsewhere. Case in point, there’s $511,000 on the books now for school liaison officers, but it’s officers who have ostensibly been “redeployed.” It’s all a shell game.
For the officers they say would do traffic work, VicPD is playing to council. But VicPD’s traffic work includes the risk of police violence, and targeting Black, Hispanic, Middle Eastern and South Asian drivers. You can have traffic safety without police. www.crimlawpractitioner.org/post/greenli...
October 22, 2025 at 11:08 PM
For the officers they say would do traffic work, VicPD is playing to council. But VicPD’s traffic work includes the risk of police violence, and targeting Black, Hispanic, Middle Eastern and South Asian drivers. You can have traffic safety without police. www.crimlawpractitioner.org/post/greenli...
VicPD also says they’re responding to “rising crime rates,” which they immediately have to footnote, because overall crime rates in Victoria are actually down. It’s a bit of a trap to engage on this, though. There’s no link between police spending and crime rates. utppublishing.com/doi/full/10....
![Several factors influencing this budget request has been outlined, including rising crime rates [footnote 1], complex social issues, and changes to regional policing collaborations.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:x2ojtemkdgeywq2ua6fx7gcu/bafkreie33do62fh6u25fhjz6xkwypzu7mpkuncyxzubd32wig3yqjbqtnu@jpeg)
October 22, 2025 at 11:08 PM
VicPD also says they’re responding to “rising crime rates,” which they immediately have to footnote, because overall crime rates in Victoria are actually down. It’s a bit of a trap to engage on this, though. There’s no link between police spending and crime rates. utppublishing.com/doi/full/10....
VicPD board finance chair Elizabeth Cull blames the budget request on a few things, including “the opioid crisis,” “mental health crises,” and “substance use.” Sounds like money could be better spent on things like safe supply and mental health resources, then, not police. Councillors have a choice.
October 22, 2025 at 11:08 PM
VicPD board finance chair Elizabeth Cull blames the budget request on a few things, including “the opioid crisis,” “mental health crises,” and “substance use.” Sounds like money could be better spent on things like safe supply and mental health resources, then, not police. Councillors have a choice.
If councillors want to gripe about the budget, they should look inwards. VicPD says Victoria now supports automatically inflationary police budget increases, an idea developed with businesses and Del Manak. Saddling residents with unthinking police budget increases is good governance, apparently.
October 22, 2025 at 11:08 PM
If councillors want to gripe about the budget, they should look inwards. VicPD says Victoria now supports automatically inflationary police budget increases, an idea developed with businesses and Del Manak. Saddling residents with unthinking police budget increases is good governance, apparently.
VicPD is branding $8 million of its 2026 request, including 8 new officers, a “core budget,” mandatory increase, which is false. Councillors can reject everything and even cut into VicPD’s existing budget. The clearest breakdown of how many officers VicPD wants is in a footnote about vehicle costs.
October 22, 2025 at 11:08 PM
VicPD is branding $8 million of its 2026 request, including 8 new officers, a “core budget,” mandatory increase, which is false. Councillors can reject everything and even cut into VicPD’s existing budget. The clearest breakdown of how many officers VicPD wants is in a footnote about vehicle costs.
To put VicPD’s demands in context, its proposed 2026 budget outpaces inflation for the last five years by $19 million. Victoria spent 23% of its 2025 budget on police. Councillors’ unflinching support for police comes at the expense of services and things like housing that actually keep people safe.
October 22, 2025 at 11:08 PM
To put VicPD’s demands in context, its proposed 2026 budget outpaces inflation for the last five years by $19 million. Victoria spent 23% of its 2025 budget on police. Councillors’ unflinching support for police comes at the expense of services and things like housing that actually keep people safe.
As I note in the table above, VicPD’s numbers exclude $925,425 rejected by Esquimalt last year, which the police board ran to the province to appeal. So the total potential budget ask for 2026 is more like $91 million.
October 22, 2025 at 11:08 PM
As I note in the table above, VicPD’s numbers exclude $925,425 rejected by Esquimalt last year, which the police board ran to the province to appeal. So the total potential budget ask for 2026 is more like $91 million.
The #yyj police board is presenting its draft 2026 budget at 5:00 pm. They want $90 million+, including 25 new officers. It would be an $11 million increase, or 14% (a 52%, $31 million increase from 2021). Budget: vicpd.ca/wp-content/u... 🧵 with highlights before the meeting starts. #vicpdboard
October 22, 2025 at 11:08 PM
The #yyj police board is presenting its draft 2026 budget at 5:00 pm. They want $90 million+, including 25 new officers. It would be an $11 million increase, or 14% (a 52%, $31 million increase from 2021). Budget: vicpd.ca/wp-content/u... 🧵 with highlights before the meeting starts. #vicpdboard
The finance update (which used to be monthly until they moved to quarterly) says overtime costs this year are “trending high.” They were at 89% when the report was written on September 19, 2025, when only 73% of the year had passed. CC this CBC story. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
October 21, 2025 at 11:41 PM
The finance update (which used to be monthly until they moved to quarterly) says overtime costs this year are “trending high.” They were at 89% when the report was written on September 19, 2025, when only 73% of the year had passed. CC this CBC story. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Agenda includes two motions, one to pay chair Micayla Hayes childcare costs during the search to replace Del Manak (which itself cost $34,000), and one to reverse their decision to not compensate elected officials who sit on the board (Desjardins lobbied hard for this change before she left board).
October 21, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Agenda includes two motions, one to pay chair Micayla Hayes childcare costs during the search to replace Del Manak (which itself cost $34,000), and one to reverse their decision to not compensate elected officials who sit on the board (Desjardins lobbied hard for this change before she left board).
There’s a #yyj police board meeting at 5:00 pm. Will follow along. This is not the meeting to unveil their obscene, $91 million, 2026 budget ask. That’s tomorrow! This one is things like “whoops, we're over budget on OT.” vicpd.ca/wp-content/u... Stream: www.youtube.com/channel/UCKK... #vicpdboard 🧵
October 21, 2025 at 11:41 PM
There’s a #yyj police board meeting at 5:00 pm. Will follow along. This is not the meeting to unveil their obscene, $91 million, 2026 budget ask. That’s tomorrow! This one is things like “whoops, we're over budget on OT.” vicpd.ca/wp-content/u... Stream: www.youtube.com/channel/UCKK... #vicpdboard 🧵
One thing I don’t get into is this old email where VicPD said purchasing a drone was an option instead of “waiting for Civil Forfeiture again.” Were they seizing drones? Using seized money to buy drones? We all know the hardship of having to wait to seize our new toys instead of using public money.
September 18, 2025 at 5:27 PM
One thing I don’t get into is this old email where VicPD said purchasing a drone was an option instead of “waiting for Civil Forfeiture again.” Were they seizing drones? Using seized money to buy drones? We all know the hardship of having to wait to seize our new toys instead of using public money.
Finally, there’s a letter from the education minister thanking police boards for help with the SD61 safety plan (the thing she fired the board over, even though their draft included bringing back SLOs). The main change I recall is the new plan takes out most of the direct oversight/accountability.
September 16, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Finally, there’s a letter from the education minister thanking police boards for help with the SD61 safety plan (the thing she fired the board over, even though their draft included bringing back SLOs). The main change I recall is the new plan takes out most of the direct oversight/accountability.
The agenda also attaches three new provincial regulations affecting police boards. They seem pretty banal, although they add a rule about board members not bringing the board or department into disrepute. To which I say, no, please bring the board or department into disrepute.
September 16, 2025 at 11:36 PM
The agenda also attaches three new provincial regulations affecting police boards. They seem pretty banal, although they add a rule about board members not bringing the board or department into disrepute. To which I say, no, please bring the board or department into disrepute.