Vancouver police are touting data they say shows a recent $5 million crack down on crime in the Downtown Eastside is getting results.
The Vancouver Police Department announced Task Force Barrage in mid-February, a three-pronged plan to target organized and violent crime in the neighbourhood.
The initiative involves a surge of uniformed police officers, new co-ordinated and long-term investigations targeting gangs and increased community partnerships.
“These additional officers have given us strength in numbers and allowed us to do more,” said Insp. Gary Hiar, commanding officer of VPD’s District 2, which includes the Downtown Eastside.
“Last week there were no robberies reported in the Downtown Eastside. The progress is clear when you walk or drive down East Hastings Street. The sidewalks look cleaner and the streets started to look safer, but there is still work to be done and that work will take some time.”
On Thursday, police said they had responded to 4,760 calls in the Downtown Eastside in the first month of the project.
Officers seized 197 weapons, including guns, tasers and knives, a 258 per cent increase.
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Police executed 153 arrest warrants and made 204 criminal code arrests.
Over the same period, the average number of assaults dropped from four per day to three per day in the DTES, and assaults involving weapons fell 30 per cent, according to police.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim first announced the increased police presence in the Downtown Eastside in January as a part of a bigger project to reshape the area, which includes a freeze on new supportive housing.
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