Latest news with #TaskForceBarrage
Global News
2 days ago
- Global News
8 public safety cameras installed in Vancouver's DTES due to high crime rates
Vancouver police say public safety cameras have been installed in the Downtown Eastside to cut down on 'violent incidents targeting the community and police.' Eight elevated safety cameras have been installed in the Downtown Eastside – four at Main and Hastings, and four at Carrall and Hastings, police said. They will replace two existing public safety trailers that were deployed in April after a Vancouver Police Department officer was attacked with a knife, two others had their uniforms set on fire and a 92-year-old man was assaulted and died in a lane behind the Carnegie Centre. 'We continue to drive down crime and drive out predators through proactive, assertive, and targeted enforcement against violent criminals and prolific offenders who operate in the Downtown Eastside,' Deputy Chief Howard Chow, Operations Division, said in a statement. Story continues below advertisement 'Despite significant progress, there's still ongoing and imminent risk to residents and police officers. Now is not the time to let up.' 1:50 Violent crime in DTES dropped in first months of Task Force Barrage, police say The Vancouver police say that despite representing three per cent of the city's population and two per cent of its geographical area, the Downtown Eastside accounts for 30 per cent of violent crime in the city. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy In February, Vancouver police announced Task Force Barrage, a $5-million initiative to flood the city's troubled Downtown Eastside with patrol officers and crack down on gangs and organized retail theft. However, police said the areas around Main and Hastings, and Carrall and Hastings, continue to have the highest crime rates in the city. Story continues below advertisement So far in 2025, there have been 225 violent crimes, including 14 robberies, 115 assaults and one homicide, within a one-block radius of where the cameras are deployed, according to police statistics. 'Residents, business owners, and community advocates tell us they're still concerned about the level of violence in the Downtown Eastside, where gangs and violent criminals are endangering the community,' Chow added. 'We've spoken to more than a dozen organizations, residents and advocates about this initiative, and we're confident it has widespread community support.' Police said the cameras are intended to deter violence and capture video evidence. They will not record audio or be used with facial recognition or artificial intelligence, or for traffic enforcement. Only authorized VPD employees will have access to recordings, which will be overwritten after four days unless required for criminal investigations.
CBC
27-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Arrest warrant issued for accused in axe attack who failed to show for court in Vancouver
Social Sharing A Vancouver provincial court judge has issued a warrant for the arrest of Steven Henry Hall after he failed to appear for a scheduled court appearance on Tuesday. Hall, 30, is accused of striking a stranger with a small axe earlier this month before stealing his sunglasses. He is charged with one count each of robbery and breach of probation. Vancouver police patrol officers arrested Hall on May 13 after the 50-year-old victim was found bleeding from his face near East Hastings and Main streets. Two weeks before the alleged axe attack, Hall was found guilty of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm related to an incident in October 2024. He was handed a one-year suspended sentence, according to online court records, while a second charge of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose was stayed. Records show Hall has been found guilty multiple times for breach of probation, with convictions for resisting arrest, break and enter, theft and weapons possession dating back to 2018. In 2019, CBC reported that Hall suffered injuries from a police dog after VPD officers witnessed him breaking into a house. The VPD credits "Task Force Barrage" as key in Hall's latest arrest. Task Force Barrage is a $5 million program to increase policing in the Downtown Eastside, Gastown, Chinatown and Strathcona. According to data released by the VPD, since launching in February, Task Force Barrage has seized 745 weapons, 79 guns and made 414 warrant arrests.
Vancouver Sun
23-05-2025
- Vancouver Sun
‘Playing Whac-a-Mole': Vancouver police say crime is down in the DTES due to boosted presence. Some aren't so sure
Vancouver's Cullin David was posing for a photograph inside his Downtown Eastside restaurant on Thursday afternoon, discussing crime in the neighbourhood, when he noticed a man outside tagging his front window. 'Look at that,' said David, head chef and co-owner of Calabash, a Caribbean restaurant. 'Excuse me.' With that, he stepped out onto Carrall Street and followed the tagger into an alley, where he asked him to hand over his Sharpie marker, which he snapped in two. David would never want his staff to confront people like that. Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Westcoast Homes will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'I don't want them getting into harm's way. I don't want to do that either. But at the same time, if you don't put your foot down, you continually get run over.' Crime and public safety have been problems in the neighbourhood long before Calabash opened in 2010. But this block has been significantly more 'volatile' in recent years, David said. David welcomed a Postmedia News reporter and photographer into his restaurant to talk about crime in the Downtown Eastside, hours after the Vancouver Police Department released figures it says shows the success of boosted efforts starting three months ago to curb crime in and around the neighbourhood. The department says it sent additional officers to Gastown, Chinatown, and Hastings Street, supported by $5 million from city hall. It has officers working overtime to patrol the neighbourhood, helping to deter crime and respond more quickly to incidents. The funding is expected to last six months. From David's perspective, as a longtime owner of a business just steps away from East Hastings Street, crime and disorder doesn't seem to have dropped much since police started their Task Force Barrage started on Feb. 13. He does not blame the police. 'Through no fault of their own, the police are playing Whac-a-Mole,' David said. 'We need the province to come into play, we need mental health facilities, we need more of a holistic focus to improve anything down here.' While crime doesn't seem very different in recent months, business at Calabash has been worse since police launched Task Force Barrage, David said. He believes the public perception of the area as a 'war zone' is keeping people away, and if not for some recent catering gigs to keep them afloat, Calabash may have already been forced to close. Some area business owners expressed more optimism. Alex Chang, who owns Baldy's Vintage clothing boutique on East Pender across from the Sun Yat-sen Garden, is in a group chat with other Chinatown business owners, including both newer merchants like him and longtime operators. Much of their talk relates to crime in the neighbourhood, which he says has slowed from several reports daily last fall to one message a day earlier this year. Lately, the group chat is only pinging every few days. At a news conference Thursday, Sgt. Steve Addison said: 'We've had more police officers out on the street in the Downtown Eastside and surrounding areas over the past three months than we have in years. And crime has plummeted.' Since the task force's launch, police say violence and most property crimes in those neighbourhoods have declined compared to 2024, with violent crime dropping 13 per cent in the Downtown Eastside and Gastown, 26 per cent in Chinatown and 14 per cent in Strathcona. The department says officers have seized 745 weapons — including 79 guns — made 414 warrant arrests, and filed 258 reports to prosecutors. Addison did not have figures on the number of convictions or recommendations to Crown counsel resulting from the arrests made by the task force. 'The process for (suspects) working their way through the court to a conviction could take months, 18 months, or longer.' He said the figures show that serious assaults, robberies and commercial break and enters in those areas have also dropped, as have residential break and enters, with the exception of Gastown, which has had no change when compared to 2024. The biggest declines were for commercial break and enters, ranging from 42 per cent in the Downtown Eastside to 86 per cent in Chinatown. Despite progress, Addison described the situation as a continuing struggle due to factors including mental health and drug use, as well as challenges when violent offenders are released from institutions and sent to halfway houses in the neighbourhood. 'It feels like we're trying to hold back a leaky dam,' said Addison. Addison emphasized the need to maintain the momentum of the task force beyond its initial surge. 'We don't want this task force to come to an end after six months and have all the gains we've made, all the progress, go to for naught,' he said. 'There will need to be broader discussions about how to sustain this effort — not just relying on the police department, but involving the community as a whole,' he added, citing senior levels of government, service providers, and community organizations as key partners. 'By having our officers close, we've been able to more easily intervene and arrest people, or stop them when they've committed thefts,' Addison said. Police and Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said when the operation was launched that it would be a 'long-term operation to dismantle organized crime networks and target predatory criminals in the Downtown Eastside and beyond.' Landon Hoyt, executive director of the Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association, said: 'Overall, we are pleased with the results of Task Force Barrage, having seen a noticeable decline in major crime in our area.' 'However, we are also conscious of the chronic systems-level challenges that still persist, which policing will not resolve,' Hoyt said. 'We will continue pushing for those services that this community desperately needs.' With files from The Canadian Press
Vancouver Sun
22-05-2025
- Vancouver Sun
‘Feels like Whac-a-Mole': Vancouver police say crime is down in the DTES due to boosted presence. Some aren't so sure
Vancouver's Cullin David was posing for a photograph inside his Downtown Eastside restaurant on Thursday afternoon, discussing crime in the neighbourhood, when he noticed a man outside tagging his front window. 'Look at that,' said David, head chef and co-owner of Calabash, a Caribbean restaurant. 'Excuse me.' With that, he stepped out onto Carrall Street and followed the tagger into an alley, where he asked him to hand over his Sharpie marker, which he snapped in two. David would never want his staff to confront people like that. Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Westcoast Homes will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'I don't want them getting into harm's way. I don't want to do that either. But at the same time, if you don't put your foot down, you continually get run over.' Crime and public safety have been problems in the neighbourhood long before Calabash opened in 2010. But this block has been significantly more 'volatile' in recent years, David said. David welcomed a Postmedia News reporter and photographer into his restaurant to talk about crime in the Downtown Eastside, hours after the Vancouver Police Department released figures it says shows the success of boosted efforts starting three months ago to curb crime in and around the neighbourhood. The department says it sent additional officers to Gastown, Chinatown, and Hastings Street, supported by $5 million from city hall. It has officers working overtime to patrol the neighbourhood, helping to deter crime and respond more quickly to incidents. The funding is expected to last six months. From David's perspective, as a longtime owner of a business just steps away from East Hastings Street, crime and disorder doesn't seem to have dropped much since police started their Task Force Barrage started on Feb. 13. He does not blame the police. 'Through no fault of their own, the police are playing Whac-a-mole,' David said. 'We need the province to come into play, we need mental health facilities, we need more of a holistic focus to improve anything down here.' While crime doesn't seem very different in recent months, business at Calabash has been worse since police launched Task Force Barrage, David said. He believes the public perception of the area as a 'war zone' is keeping people away, and if not for some recent catering gigs to keep them afloat, Calabash may have already been forced to close. Some area business owners expressed more optimism. Alex Chang, who owns Baldy's Vintage clothing boutique on East Pender across from the Sun Yat-sen Garden, is in a group chat with other Chinatown business owners, including both newer merchants like him and longtime operators. Much of their talk relates to crime in the neighbourhood, which he says has slowed from several reports daily last fall to one message a day earlier this year. Lately, the group chat is only pinging every few days. At a news conference Thursday, Sgt. Steve Addison said: 'We've had more police officers out on the street in the Downtown Eastside and surrounding areas over the past three months than we have in years. And crime has plummeted.' Since the task force's launch, police say violence and most property crimes in those neighbourhoods have declined compared to 2024, with violent crime dropping 13 per cent in the Downtown Eastside and Gastown, 26 per cent in Chinatown and 14 per cent in Strathcona. The department says officers have seized 745 weapons — including 79 guns — made 414 warrant arrests, and filed 258 reports to prosecutors. Addison did not have figures on the number of convictions or recommendations to Crown counsel resulting from the arrests made by the task force. 'The process for (suspects) working their way through the court to a conviction could take months, 18 months, or longer.' He said the figures show that serious assaults, robberies and commercial break and enters in those areas have also dropped, as have residential break and enters, with the exception of Gastown, which has had no change when compared to 2024. The biggest declines were for commercial break and enters, ranging from 42 per cent in the Downtown Eastside to 86 per cent in Chinatown. Despite progress, Addison described the situation as a continuing struggle due to factors including mental health and drug use, as well as challenges when violent offenders are released from institutions and sent to halfway houses in the neighbourhood. 'It feels like we're trying to hold back a leaky dam,' said Addison. Addison emphasized the need to maintain the momentum of the task force beyond its initial surge. 'We don't want this task force to come to an end after six months and have all the gains we've made, all the progress, go to for naught,' he said. 'There will need to be broader discussions about how to sustain this effort — not just relying on the police department, but involving the community as a whole,' he added, citing senior levels of government, service providers, and community organizations as key partners. 'By having our officers close, we've been able to more easily intervene and arrest people, or stop them when they've committed thefts,' Addison said. Police and Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said when the operation was launched that it would be a 'long-term operation to dismantle organized crime networks and target predatory criminals in the Downtown Eastside and beyond.' Landon Hoyt, executive director of the Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association, said: 'Overall, we are pleased with the results of Task Force Barrage, having seen a noticeable decline in major crime in our area.' 'However, we are also conscious of the chronic systems-level challenges that still persist, which policing will not resolve,' Hoyt said. 'We will continue pushing for those services that this community desperately needs.' With files from The Canadian Press
Global News
22-05-2025
- Global News
Violence, street crime down in Vancouver's DTES due to task force, police say
Vancouver police say violence and street crime have dropped in the Downtown Eastside since the launch of a dedicated police task force. Task Force Barrage was launched three months ago to target criminals and criminal activity in the Downtown Eastside. 'While we're making life harder for violent offenders and organized criminals, we're also working with the community to improve safety and build relationships,' Insp. Gary Hiar, commanding officer of Task Force Barrage, said in a statement. 'This work will require a sustained effort and there's still a long road ahead.' According to the Vancouver police, since the launch of the task force, officers have seized 745 weapons including 79 guns (14 real/65 replica); made 414 warrant arrests (five a day) and made 258 reports to Crown counsel for charges. Story continues below advertisement Teams have been deployed to Gastown, Chinatown and Hastings Street, police said, and officers also conducted co-ordinated investigations to target violent offenders and organized criminals, working with staff from housing providers and helping the City of Vancouver address street disorder and sanitation issues. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The Vancouver police provided data about each neighbourhood, saying the numbers show violence and most property crime is trending lower in four neighbourhoods compared with 2024. Violent crime Downtown Eastside: down 13 per cent Gastown: down 13 per cent Chinatown: down 26 per cent Strathcona: down 14 per cent Serious assaults Downtown Eastside: down 13 per cent Gastown: down 17 per cent Chinatown: down 17 per cent Strathcona: down 20 per cent Robberies Downtown Eastside: down 35 per cent Gastown: no change Chinatown: down 57 per cent Strathcona: down nine per cent Commercial break and enters Downtown Eastside: down 42 per cent Gastown: down 47 per cent Chinatown: down 86 per cent Strathcona: down 67 per cent Residential break and enters Downtown Eastside: down 38 per cent Gastown: no change Chinatown: down 25 per cent Strathcona: up 43 per cent (increase from seven to 10) The Vancouver Police Department defines Strathcona as Waterfront Road (north) to Prior Street (south) and from Main Street (west) to Jackson Avenue (east).
