Police need enforcement tools from the province as public gatherings increase in Victoria and Esquimalt, despite public health warnings to physically distance amid the COVID-19 pandemic, says Victoria鈥檚 police chief.
鈥淚f I鈥檓 given the authority from the provincial health officer through the Public Health Act to actually enforce some of the orders, we would use a tremendous amount of discretion,鈥� said Chief Del Manak, noting the province is working on the issue.
鈥淲e would want to go in with awareness and co-operation and education first, but where we found there was just flagrant violations and a real lack of understanding and unwillingness to co-operate with these health orders, then at least having the tools to enforce the order would be beneficial and we would use it on a case-by-case basis.鈥�
Officers responded to nine noise complaints over the weekend, including several parties, gatherings and a group at Saxe Point Park.
The people involved, mostly young adults, were not practising 鈥渁ny type of social distancing鈥� and while co-operative, were dismissive of the risk of transmission, said Manak.
鈥淚t鈥檚 actually worse than the previous weekend,鈥� said Manak. 鈥淚t鈥檚 frustrating because it is unnecessary. 鈥� People are choosing to blatantly ignore the provincial health officer鈥檚 direction and advice to socially distance themselves.鈥�
B.C. Public Health Officer Dr.聽Bonnie Henry has ordered that no gatherings of more than 50 people take place in the province.
At a news conference on Monday, Henry said the number was selected because physical distancing would be manageable.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 mean you can have 49 people at a house party,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 need people to understand that small groups inside are a risk and small groups and large groups outside are still a risk.
鈥淲e need to maintain those physical distances, particularly in the coming weeks.鈥�
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps called the weekend gatherings 鈥渆xasperating.鈥�
鈥淒on鈥檛 party and don鈥檛 gather,鈥� said Helps, speaking at a daily city update Monday on COVID-19. 鈥淭hese are our police officers and we don鈥檛 want to put them in harm鈥檚 way.鈥�
Helps said she also received emails over the weekend about people out playing basketball.
鈥淒on鈥檛 play basketball,鈥� said Helps. 鈥淭here will be time for partying, time for basketball. That time is not now.鈥�
The province is working on an enforcement framework for the provincial health officer鈥檚 orders, said Manak.
The enforcement tools would potentially be for all uniformed officers, including bylaw officers and sheriffs, 鈥渢o respond to egregious complaints,鈥� he said.
鈥淭he way I look at it, we鈥檙e going to have to get there,鈥� said Manak. 鈥淚鈥檓 disappointed that there isn鈥檛 greater recognition in our community that this is serious, that this is a global public-health emergency.鈥�
Manak said he doesn鈥檛 have enough officers to be writing tickets all day, but having the enforcement tool would be 鈥渁dvantageous鈥� in sending a strong message to the public.
Victoria鈥檚 police chief said he didn鈥檛 think it would be necessary to enforce the physical-distancing order, given the wealth of public health information available.
鈥淚 think that I was expecting more people to do the right thing, to have a common-sense approach and to really think of the greater good,鈥� said Manak, pointing to the risk of transmitting the virus to loved ones, police officers, grocery clerks, cleaners, nurses, doctors, care workers and front-line and essential-service workers.
鈥淭his not the time to take the foot off the gas. This is not the time to be complacent.
鈥淭his is the time to double down. This is the time to really demonstrate in these next few days and in the next week that we are going to tackle this head on and that all of us are 100 per cent committed to doing our part.鈥�
鈥� With a file from Roxanne Egan-Elliott
