Victoria police arrest youths amid weekend crackdown in downtown core
Victoria police say they arrested six youths on Friday night and two on Saturday as the force aims to crack down on teens behaving badly.
VicPD social media channels show most of the arrests were for vandalism and intoxication.
Victoria police say downtown businesses have noticed a stark increase in crimes committed by young people in the downtown core over the past month.
Including this weekend, Victoria police say they have investigated over 30 such crimes. They span from public intoxication to serious assaults, including one where a senior was reportedly swarmed and beaten by a large group of youngsters.
Police say this weekend represented a decrease in calls from the three weekends before it, but still continued the trend.
VicPD spokesperson Bowen Osoko says officers took time to speak with teens over the past several days and asked them why they were descending on the core en masse.
“One of them, who was from outside of Victoria from one of the surrounding municipalities, indicated over the past couple of years they have really been pent up inside and haven’t really had a chance to socialize,” said Osoko.
Officers were also told that many activities young people took part in remain shut down during the pandemic.
VicPD is now planning to meet with Greater Victoria School District officials to discuss the issues young people are causing downtown.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
P.E.I. kiteboarder 'lucky to be alive' after shark attack in Turks and Caicos
A professional kiteboarder from P.E.I. says he has been seriously injured in a shark attack that occurred while he was snorkelling in the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
Teen dies after being hit by train in N.W. Calgary
A teenager has died after being hit by a train in northwest Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.
Black bear kebabs make family sick with parasitic worms
It was supposed to be a celebration, but one family’s unique meal of black bear meat sent several members to the hospital instead.
'It's his vacation too': Jimmy the baby goat joins 2-week road trip across Canada
After Jimmy the baby goat was shunned by his mother, a New Brunswick man took the kid on a two-week road trip across Canada.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there’s a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.