‘Historical change’: Vancouver police to create new policing district in DTES

The Vancouver Police Department says a crackdown on crime in the DTES will continue even as its controversial Task Force Barrage initiative winds down.

The Vancouver Police Department will be establishing a new policing district in the Downtown Eastside, as funding for a multi-million dollar task force targeted at crime in the neighbourhood runs out.

On Monday, VPD Chief Steve Rai said the initiative will include a new senior management structure within the force.

For now, the neighbourhood will remain part of District Two, which includes Strathcona, Grandview-Woodlands, Hastings-Sunrise, and the Downtown Eastside, he said.

Eventually the DTES will form its own geographical policing district, which will be called District Five.

“This will be a historical change from the city’s four district policing model,” he said.

“You will continue to see more police officers walking and talking throughout the Downtown Eastside.”

‘Police their way out of the problem’

Rai pointed to Task Force Barrage, a $5 million project aimed at targeting crime in the neighbourhood as being the initiative that led to the idea.

“The community supports this because everyone knows that more officers mean less crime and safer streets,” he said.

“Task Force Barrage has shown this, and we will continue the work that it did.”

Not all community members agree.

Dave Hamm, a long-time resident of the DTES and vice-president of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, said the increased police presence is not addressing the root issues in the area.

“They can try and police their way out of the problem down here,” he said.

“It’s not going to happen. You can’t police yourself, but you’ve got to do the right thing and build some housing and get people into it.”

Task Force Barrage

Barrage was announced in February in a joint press conference by Mayor Ken Sim and then VPD chief, Adam Palmer.

It’s faced controversy, such as allegations around arrest quotes and the Vancouver Police Board failing to approve it.

On Monday, Rai said he had briefed the board on the results from Task Force Barrage and the VPD’s future plans, ahead of the 2026 operating budget.

Rai said he believes Barrage’s funding will last until early to mid-October.

When asked what the cost of launching this policing model will be, Rai said, “There will be a cost somewhere down the road, and we’re building into that as we get into our operating.”

Violent crime down

Rai’s announcement accompanied a joint news conference Monday with Mayor Ken Sim and the Vancouver Fire Rescue Services.

Sim said since Barrage was introduced, the city has made progress in terms of public safety.

“Violent crime in the Downtown Eastside and across the city is down significantly,” he said. “As of today, our numbers are the same as they were in 2002.”

Crime has been declining in the city prior to Task Force Barrage.

Criticism over cost, data

Green Coun. Pete Fry said he questioned some of the crime stats touted by the VPD and the mayor.

“I think they’ve conflated some of the data points,” he said.

“We know that crime’s been trending down citywide, and unfortunately, when they give this sort of data as a percentage, it doesn’t really indicate what the real change is. What we need is just hard numbers.”

Fry said he would have liked to have the budget associated with creating a new policing district.

“This is probably going to cost a lot of money,” he said.

“And so, on the eve of a big, significant budget, of which the mayor has promised a zero per cent budget increase, it will be interesting to see how ABC plans to reconcile this last year before an election promise and make good on their budget commitments.”