Vancouver city staff work on strategy to address violent crime

Vancouver city staff are now working on a strategy to address the spike in violent crime that’s been hampering the city.

Public safety has become a major issue in recent months and was the subject of a marathon special city council meeting.

The original meeting took place April 28, but reconvened Tuesday evening to allow for more speakers to voice their concerns.

More than 60 passionate advocates spoke Tuesday alone, representing the views of residents, businesses and frontline workers.

One social worker described how she was recently accosted and spat on by a homeless woman at St. Paul’s Hospital.

Jennifer Foster said she was shaken, but also concerned where that woman might end up.

“I know hospitals, especially downtown, are often a revolving door for people who are homeless,” said Foster as she addressed council by phone.

“I also know that a portion of the crime experience in Vancouver, one of the other topics being discussed here tonight, comes from people who are homeless, a portion of it because they have no economic supports and many lack hope."

The focus of the meeting was to hear perspectives, concerns and recommendations relating to public safety and violent crime in Vancouver.

Some community members spoke about not feeling safe.

A woman with the PACE Society, which represents sex workers, said the city is prioritizing comments of police and businesses.

The president of the Gastown Business Improvement Association said conversations about crime are happening continually, but nothing is changing.

Almost all speakers shared concerns about a noticeable spike in crime, and it appears no part of the city is immune.

The executive director of a local community policing centre said the social landscape is changing and her staff can’t keep up with the demand for service.

“One trend is an increase in calls for immediate response to public safety issues. We're often asked to deal with police and non-police issues happening real time in the community,” said Aleya Trott Akey, the executive director of the West End Coal Harbour Community Policing Centre.

Akey said the centre responded to 41 community complaints in real time last year.

That was only about five per cent of all reports it received, but more than the two per cent it responded to in the years prior.

“The other thing to keep in mind is it's not our original mandate to physically respond. Community policing centers were designed to complement police services by providing crime prevention, education, and conducting personal safety activities in the community,” said Akey.

“Now we're acting as an alternative when police are not required, or police are peaceful or are unwilling to call or there is no one else that can or will or are able to respond within a timely manner,” she told council.

The Vancouver Police Department has been struggling to deal with a rise in assaults, including unprovoked attacks by strangers.

They say they’ve been upping their presence in problem areas in response.

Earlier this year, the VPD said the city sees an average of four random attacks a day.

A local criminologist argues statistics show while some areas are seeing spikes in crime, the city as a whole is seeing stability or decreases in overall crime, violent crime and assaults.

“I believe it's fear-mongering to end up justifying them disputing their budget,” said Martin Andresen, a criminology professor with Simon Fraser University.

Vancouver city council voted to freeze a funding increase for the VPD in the 2021 operating budget.

At the time, the move was described by the Vancouver Police Board as a "$5.7 million cut" and the Vancouver Police Board appealed it with the province.

In March, the province decided the funds should be restored to the police department's budget, effectively overturning council’s decision.

Andresen believes the VPD may be releasing data to further its position.

“They're scaring a lot of people and they don't need to,” argued Andresen.

“Some of it is actual people seeing it, but also I think when you hear about it, you look. It's like when you get a car, and all of a sudden you see that make and model of the car everywhere."

City staff will work with the VPD to report back to council next month with an action plan on how to best move forward. 

With files from CTV Vancouver’s Alissa Thibault