Vancouver police say Downtown Eastside crime drops after adoption of task force

Police in Vancouver have released new data they say depicts the success of a task force launched three months ago to curb crime in the city's Downtown Eastside neighbourhood.

The department says it has deployed additional teams of officers to Gastown, Chinatown and Hastings Street under Task Force Barrage, allowing officers to deter crime and respond faster when incidents happen.

Police say that in the three months since the operation was launched on Feb. 13, the task force seized 745 weapons, 79 guns, completed 414 warrant arrests and made 258 reports to Crown counsel.

Police say violence and most property crime in those neighbourhoods has declined compared to 2024.

They say in a news release that violent crime has dropped 13 per cent in the Downtown Eastside, 13 per cent in Gastown, 26 per cent in Chinatown and 14 per cent in Strathcona.

The department says data also shows serious assaults, robberies and commercial break and enters in those areas have also dropped, as have residential break and enters with the exception of Gastown which has seen no change when compared to 2024.

The biggest overall declines were for commercial break and enters, ranging from 42 per cent in the Downtown Eastside to 86 per cent in Chinatown.

Police and Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said when the operation was launched that it would be a "long-term operation to dismantle organized crime networks and target predatory criminals in the Downtown Eastside and beyond."

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward