POLICE BUDGET NEEDS CASH TO FIGHT CRIME

Victoria police Chief Paul Battershill said his department needs enough
money to keep downtown safe before it diverts funds into social programs.

During police budget presentations at Victoria city council's
committee-of-the-whole meeting, Victoria Councillor Denise Savoie
questioned whether a portion of the department's funding could be
"re-focused" toward social issues which are ultimately at the root of the
work done by police.

Chief Paul Battershill countered by saying "the streets have to be safe
before we have a dialogue on the rest of it". He said the bottom line is
"if you're selling drugs on the streets, we're going to arrest you".

Victoria Councillor Chris Coleman interjected by saying there is a need to
keep the pressure on the Vancouver Island Health Authority to make sure the
money is there to fund solutions to street problems.

The conversation came as the department presented a budget that calls for
an $1.079-million increase over 2002, for a total of about $27.4 million.

For the second straight year, increases in wages and benefits make up the
bulk of the increase. The department's financial officer, Scott Sievewright
estimated about $500,000 could be attributed to an jump in police wages and
another $100,000 in wages for unionized office staff.

Total revenues taken in by the department are expected to drop by about
$123,000. The decrease is mainly due to a halving in provincial funding for
prisoners awaiting trial and the fact the province is no longer paying for
the serving of criminal documents. However, funding of CounterAttack
programs has gone up.

Esquimalt Mayor Darwin Robinson made an appearance at the meeting to inform
council he had heard nothing but good reports from residents about the
amalgamation of the Victoria and Esquimalt police departments and the work
of officers in his municipality since the Jan. 1 merger.