Thinking about bussing to the beach with a fine bottle of Bordeaux this Canada Day? Think again.
BC Transit, in co-operation with the Victoria Police Department, will not be permitting alcohol on board buses on July 1.
Police officers will be performing bag checks and confiscating beer and liquor in order to avoid the problems the transit company has experience during past events.
"They've had damage to their buses, people ripping out seats, they've had assaults on their bus drivers," Sgt. Grant Hamilton said Wednesday.
"Over the years they've had almost $100,000 worth of damage."
Passengers can always decline to have their bag checked - as long as they don't mind traveling by foot.
Mobile surveillance cameras
Victoria Police will also be using Canada Day to test a new technology: officer-mounted mobile video cameras.
Six officers will wear the devices, which police say will not be recording continuously - only switched on to capture incidents.
"Any time an officer is entering into investigation, they just press a button and it starts recording," Hamilton said. "It's got 360 degree audio, it's got either nighttime or daytime lenses, and it records interaction from the officer's perspective."
Two bike squad officers, two foot patrol and two traffic officers will be carrying the technology, which costs between $1,300 and $1,600 per unit.
Hamilton says in previous trials, the equipment was found to reduce complaints against officers, make suspects more cooperative, and produce a higher conviction rate.
The test is slated to run for two months, using technology on-loan from the manufacturer.
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