Latest news with #HastingsCrossing
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
New community policing centre opens in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside
A new Vancouver community policing centre is opening in Gastown and Hastings Crossing in partnership with the city and the police department. The Gastown-Hastings Crossing Community Policing Centre (GHX CPC) will offer various crime prevention and outreach programs, including safety education, crime reporting, and initiatives such as community clean-ups, graffiti paint-overs, and neighbourhood safety walks. "Community policing centres aren't traditional police stations," Mayor Ken Sim said at a news conference on Wednesday. "They're not just about enforcement, they're about people. They're about building trust, strengthening relationships, and creating safer communities from the ground up." Sim said the opening of the new community policing centre at 109 West Hastings St. is a direct response to businesses wanting to feel safer in their community. He said the centre will be a community safety hub where people can ask questions, report concerns and learn about resources. The centre will host front-line police officers for engagement but will be primarily staffed by trained volunteers and civilian staff, according to its website. Vancouver Police Chief Constable Steve Rai said the community policing centre is "definitely needed" in the neighbourhood because of its crime rate. He said the Downtown Eastside accounts for about 30 per cent of all violent crime in Vancouver, but is only about two per cent of the city's geographic area. Rai said his experience working at the Davie Street community policing centre was the most rewarding assignment in his career. "It was because we were able to talk to people at the ground level to help fix those little problems before they become problems … where you're calling 911." The Gastown-Hastings Crossing Community Policing Centre will be run by an independent non-profit society staffed and governed by community members working in partnership with the VPD. Sandra Singh, deputy city manager, said the city spends about a "couple hundred thousand dollars" a year on community policing centres, and estimated the GHX CPC would cost a little bit more due to its larger size. She noted the goal will be to have the centre open seven days a week and expand the centre and its hours as it grows. The province gave a one-time $1-million contribution toward the development of the centre. Landon Hoyt, executive director of the Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association, said the new centre is one way to move toward a more community-focused approach to safety. He noted it will be more than a hub for policing. "It provides a drop-in centre, a stop-over space for our safety patrols, Gastown safety patrols, the EMS bike patrols, things like that." "It's really a place to better co-ordinate these safety approaches in the neighbourhood."
CBC
6 days ago
- CBC
New community policing centre opens in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside
A new Vancouver community policing centre is opening in Gastown and Hastings Crossing in partnership with the city and the police department. The Gastown-Hastings Crossing Community Policing Centre (GHX CPC) will offer various crime prevention and outreach programs, including safety education, crime reporting, and initiatives such as community clean-ups, graffiti paint-overs, and neighbourhood safety walks. "Community policing centres aren't traditional police stations," Mayor Ken Sim said at a news conference on Wednesday. "They're not just about enforcement, they're about people. They're about building trust, strengthening relationships, and creating safer communities from the ground up." Sim said the opening of the new community policing centre at 109 West Hastings St. is a direct response to businesses wanting to feel safer in their community. He said the centre will be a community safety hub where people can ask questions, report concerns and learn about resources. The centre will host front-line police officers for engagement but will be primarily staffed by trained volunteers and civilian staff, according to its website. Vancouver Police Chief Constable Steve Rai said the community policing centre is "definitely needed" in the neighbourhood because of its crime rate. He said the Downtown Eastside accounts for about 30 per cent of all violent crime in Vancouver, but is only about two per cent of the city's geographic area. Rai said his experience working at the Davie Street community policing centre was the most rewarding assignment in his career. "It was because we were able to talk to people at the ground level to help fix those little problems before they become problems … where you're calling 911." The Gastown-Hastings Crossing Community Policing Centre will be run by an independent non-profit society staffed and governed by community members working in partnership with the VPD. Sandra Singh, deputy city manager, said the city spends about a "couple hundred thousand dollars" a year on community policing centres, and estimated the GHX CPC would cost a little bit more due to its larger size. She noted the goal will be to have the centre open seven days a week and expand the centre and its hours as it grows. The province gave a one-time $1-million contribution toward the development of the centre. Landon Hoyt, executive director of the Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association, said the new centre is one way to move toward a more community-focused approach to safety. He noted it will be more than a hub for policing. "It provides a drop-in centre, a stop-over space for our safety patrols, Gastown safety patrols, the EMS bike patrols, things like that."
CTV News
30-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
B.C. launches public safety program aimed at stopping non-violent street crime
Pedestrians cross East Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on Thursday, June 13, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck VANCOUVER — British Columbia has launched a new public safety program aimed at reducing robbery, shoplifting, vandalism, property damage and other non-violent street crimes in high-traffic business areas. Terry Yung, minister of state for community safety and integrated services, said the program is a "direct result" of feedback from police and the business community across the province. "We heard loud and clear what they wanted," Yung told Friday's press conference in Vancouver. "Street-level crime such as theft, robbery (are) undermining businesses and making it sometimes untenable for them to be around." Yung said the initiative will help police address repeat offenders, building on the work of the "highly successful" Specialized Investigation and Targeted Enforcement program, which is aimed at stopping those who commit violent crimes. In Vancouver, he said the specialized investigation program contributed to a 27-per-cent decrease in violent crimes in the Hastings Crossing area of the Downtown Eastside and a 45-per-cent drop in violent assaults involving weapons in the Gastown neighbourhood. The minister said the B.C. RCMP is administering the new Community Safety and Targeted Enforcement program and police departments across the province may apply for funding by submitting proposals for reducing non-violent street crime. The province has allocated up to $5 million to launch the initiative, though Yung said the money is "a start." The B.C. government will continue to support policing while waiting for results from the program before deciding the next steps, he said. "But that doesn't preclude other investments the province is making in terms of housing, in terms of health care, mental health, drug addiction treatment, poverty reduction and other social service agencies that we're funding," he said. "We can't just arrest our way out of crime ... We have to look at the undercurrents of what (is) causing this to happen." B.C. public safety officials are also "watching carefully" as the federal government considers bail reform to address repeat offending, Yung added. "We are looking forward to seeing what concrete changes are coming from the new government," he said. A statement from the province said the program will provide police with "enhanced tools, technology and investigative resources to curb property crimes." It will also support police as they develop co-ordinated operational plans that involve businesses, outreach teams and social services, the statement said. RCMP Chief Supt. Wendy Mehat told the news conference the new program is "a step forward" and another tool for police to use in combatting street-level crime by repeat offenders that is "eroding a sense of safety" in communities across B.C. She said police departments may seek funding to increase patrols in areas with high levels of retail theft or to address drug trafficking in downtown areas. Mehat said the initiative supports a "combined response" to crime, including connecting people in crisis with supports. The general manager of loss prevention with London Drugs, Tony Hunt, also took part in the announcement, saying crime was "driving fear into families and workers" and threatening the viability of jobs and entire neighbourhoods. "Retail and service workers who make up the backbone of our country's labor force are facing aggressive behavior, organized retail crime, and both violent and non-violent repeat offenders," he said. Retailers are "spending more than ever before" on security, he added. Hunt said he welcomed the province's new safety initiative as a "meaningful step forward" in supporting local efforts to reduce crime and build community safety. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2025. Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press
