At Stadacona Park, where strays have camped for months, few tents remained on a rainy Friday. However, Victoria Police spokesperson Bowen Osoko said they are seeing many more newcomers to BC’s capital from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. “I understand it’s a few hundred,” Osoko told CHEK News. Earlier this summer, Vancouver’s fire chief issued an order to separate tents in the DTES after a series of deadly fires started in tents and spread to nearby buildings. READ MORE: As Vancouver begins clearing out tent encampment, residents wonder where to go Officials would not confirm that the people seen moving into Victoria are the same ones who were ordered to pack up their tents during the DTES cleanup. Osoko claimed that the recent increase in violent crime is, at least in part, due to the new residents. “We’ve had more records involving firearms and more random assaults, stabbings this year than in recent memory,” he said. But Grant Mackenzie, director of communications for Our Place Society, said while there were more homeless people, they were just trying to find their place in the city. “We are definitely seeing new faces at Our Place. And whenever new faces come into the community, there can be a bit of a struggle because people are trying to find their own community and other communities have settled in,” he said. Doug King, executive director of Together Against Poverty, agreed that the number of homeless people in the city is increasing, along with the related issue of crime — but said it’s more complicated than blaming new residents. “Whether it’s people coming in from Vancouver or people being displaced from housing within our city, that’s definitely something we’re seeing as well,” he said. Victoria’s last homelessness count took place in March 2020 and more than 1,500 people were found to have experienced homelessness. The survey determines where people come from and why they are homeless. The City of Victoria’s next homelessness count is not expected to take place until spring 2023. RELATED: Police seek man who threw coffee at mother and baby in Victoria

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