Business group 'cautiously optimistic' over $5M B.C. public safety program
British Columbia has launched a new $5 million 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 news 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.
WATCH | Retailers call for crackdown on street crime:
Retailers call on government to address public safety crisis
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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.
Bryan Tepper, the B.C. Conservative MLA for Surrey-Panorama and Opposition critic for community safety and integrated services, said he welcomed the extra funding for police, as a former Mountie himself.
However, he questioned whether more funding for police alone would help address street crime, saying that more funding should have gone toward a court system that is struggling to process the high volume of cases coming its way.
"They're not sentencing people to anything that is going to deter in the future, or that's going to help people with their ... drugs and addiction and mental health issues," he told CBC News, calling for bail reform to deal with repeat offenders.
Retailers welcome program
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 labour force are facing aggressive behaviour, 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.
Kalith Nanayakkara, a senior policy analyst with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said that an average small business spent $5,000 over the last three years to deal with vandalism and street crime.
"Last year, 57 per cent of small businesses in B.C. were impacted by crime in some way," he told CBC News.
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