A number of massive house parties were the biggest challenges for Saanich police on the weekend leading up to Halloween.
On Friday and Saturday nights (Oct. 28 and 29), Saanich police attended multiple Halloween parties. Four of the gatherings each had several hundred people in attendance.
“Each one of those parties required 10 to 12 officers, not including reserves. So that’s significant bodies,” Sgt. Dean Jantzen said. “Dealing with those (parties) is resource-intensive as we’ve got to get (partiers) out, moving it out on the streets and getting people safely into vehicles home."
There were designated officers assigned to the University of Victoria both nights. Two people were arrested there Saturday, including one for assault.
Saanich police and the Integrated Road Safety Unit was out conducting road blocks and traffic stops both nights, resulting in 13 arrests.
"We find usually the Friday and Saturday just prior to Halloween is probably the third busiest time of the year for us (after Canada Day and New Years Eve)," said Sgt. Graeme LeBlanc with IRSU. "We’re still having a significant issue with alcohol. We saw lots of taxis out there, lots of designated drivers, but there's still people out there willing to take the chance."
On a positive note for police, there were few problems related to fireworks.
"We were busy. We we had sufficient resources to deal with everything that occurred," he said.
kslavin@saanichnews.com