Vancouver makes plans to tackle organized crime in city's Downtown Eastside

Plans to tackle crime

Photo: The Canadian Press

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, left, and Vancouver police Chief Adam Palmer listen as B.C. Premier David Eby announces a new public safety plan in Vancouver, on November 20, 2022.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim and the city's police chief have unveiled a task force to tackle organized crime in the Downtown Eastside and beyond.

Sim says the status quo isn't working in the neighbourhood, and criminal gangs, drug traffickers and repeat offenders are preying on the most vulnerable who live there.

The city says Task Force Barrage will expand tactics that bring together police, fire, bylaw officers, sanitation crews and engineering teams to ensure sidewalks are clear and safe for residents, workers and visitors.

It says more officers will be on the streets and they'll enhance community partnerships to improve public safety in a long-term initiative targeting crime.

Sim says policing alone isn't the answer, but it's part of the solution and he's urging other levels of government to help with the effort.

The mayor unveiled a plan last month to revitalize the Downtown Eastside, which included a freeze on construction of new supportive housing units in Vancouver in favour of fixing the current aging housing units in the area.

Sim says the operation will cost $5 million.