Plans are underway to establish a new policing district in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, after a temporary task force in the neighbourhood produced what police are calling significant results.
Vancouver Police Chief Const. Steve Rai said Monday that the formation of a new police district in the Downtown Eastside will initially draw from the reallocation of existing resources but will eventually require additional investment.
"We've got beat officers. We've the vehicles. We've got administrative support. We've got the analysts," Rai said.
"So we'll find those and reallocate those internally, but as you grow a district and be responsive to the needs of the city, sure, there'll be a cost somewhere down the road. We're building into that as we get into operating."
The development comes as the City of Vancouver unveiled data from Task Force Barrage, an operation to target organized crime, violent offenders and street disorder in the neighbourhood.
Police and Mayor Ken Sim said that in the six months of the task force's operation from February to August, violent crime in the Downtown Eastside fell to its lowest level in 23 years, down 18 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Other numbers presented in a news conference suggested a 44-per-cent drop in robberies and a 23-per-cent drop in serious assaults.
There was also a 28-per-cent decline in medical response cases by Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services and a 36-per-cent decline in overdose call-outs.
"As of today, our numbers are the same as they were in 2002," said Sim of the Downtown Eastside's violent crime numbers.
"That's a 23-year low. So I want that to sink in. Turns out, when you make investments in public safety, the streets get safer."
Sim also announced that council would introduce a motion in October to launch a pilot program covering four different neighbourhoods — the West End, Downtown, Strathcona and Mount Pleasant — to use a data system similar to police systems.
Sim said the system would provide more transparency and accountability, improving how services are operated in those parts of the city.
He urged the British Columbia and federal governments to increase funding on health care as well as deal with issues such as bail reform to address the root cause of the challenges facing Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
"If we want to make a meaningful difference, if we want to get to the root cause of this, we need the province to step up," Sim said. "These are health care issues. We don't have the jurisdiction. We do not have the resources."
Speaking after the police data announcement, Vancouver Coun. Sean Orr said the public may not fully trust numbers provided by police.
Orr also criticized Sim's comments on the root causes of the issues, saying the council dominated by Sim's party had voted down his motion to extend leases for modular housing, while pausing investments that increase the overall supply of supportive housing.
He said the city could do more for the Downtown Eastside.
"I'm confused," Orr said. "I see a disconnect there between doing everything we can, all hands on deck, and this response, saying there's root causes but then voting down solutions that would address those root causes."
Rai said the Downtown Eastside task force's funding would wind down by mid-October, and details of the funding required for the new policing district would come later.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
