VANCOUVER POLICE BOARD

Transcription

1 VANCOUVER POLICE BOARD MINUTES of Regular Meeting Held on February 25 th, :00pm to 7 th Floor Main Boardroom, 2120 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC Board Members Present Mayor Gregor Robertson (Chair) Dr. Sherri Magee (Vice-Chair) Carolyn Askew Johnny Cheung Barj Dhahan Mark James Claire Marshall Thomas Tam Dr. Peter Wong Staff Present Chief Constable Adam Palmer A/DCC Daryl Wiebe DCC Steve Rai DCC Warren Lemcke Stephanie Johanssen, Executive Assistant Absent: Patti Marfleet, Executive Director The Chair called the Regular Meeting to order at 1:03pm Introduction of Board members/staff. 1. Adoption of Regular Meeting Agenda THAT the Vancouver Police Board approve the Regular Meeting Agenda for February 25, Approval of Minutes THAT the Vancouver Police Board approve the Regular Meeting Minutes of January Delegation Mr. Dave Home spoke to the Board regarding policing in the DTES, including grievances of the low income community in the DTES. Mr. Home noted that his community would like the Vancouver Police Department to cease and desist in removing the low income and vulnerable street vendors along Hastings Street. Mr. Home stated that he found it unacceptable that the Vancouver Police Board / Feb REGULAR MINUTES page 1

2 City has plans to shut down the Sunday Street Vendor Market and noted that the DTES community had wanted 312 Main Street for low income housing. The Chief exited the meeting at 1:16pm to discuss the issues at hand with Mr. Home off line. 4. Community/VPD Presentation: Crime Stoppers A/DCC Daryl Wiebe introduced Linda Annis (Executive Director, Crime Stoppers) and spoke to the rewarding partnership the VPD has with Crime Stoppers. Former CC Bob Stewart originally brought the program to Canada from the United States. Ms. Annis played a short video and then briefed the Board on the program, outlining the usual crime problems such as gangs, drugs, violence, fraud, theft, arson and a number of other crimes that negatively impact the community. The criminals are often not easy to spot and at times police need help locating them. Crime Stoppers was founded in 1975 by a Canadian living in Texas who knew somebody within the community that had information on an unsolved crime, but they were afraid to come forward. Ms. Annis noted that Crime Stoppers is not the police. It is an independent non-profit organization that takes information about crimes in the past, present and future. Ms. Annis represents the Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers, and it covers the area from Abbotsford to Powell River. Calls are always answered by a live human being 24/7 and they take tips in 114 different languages. The whole premise of the Crime Stoppers Program is the anonymity. There is no caller ID, and Crime Stoppers doesn t track SMS texts; whoever provides the tip information will never have to testify. Crime Stoppers is completely protected by the Supreme Court of Canada. It is always preferred that people call the police with any information that they have, but if someone has a fear of retaliation or does not want to get involved, Crime Stoppers is an option for them to relay information to the authorities anonymously. Ms. Annis noted that Crime Stoppers pays for information. Cash rewards of up to $2000 are offered for information leading to an arrest. Ms. Annis outlined the procedure for anonymous payment for tips. The program works through a three way partnership between the police, the media and the community. Crime Stoppers gets information about crimes from the police, and then engage the community by pushing out the information through their media partners. The information they receive then gets directed back to the police. Ms. Annis provided information on how to contact Crime Stoppers. ( ) There are four ways to leave a tip: visit the website, connect through social media, text, or call. Ms. Annis provided information on statistics regarding arrests worldwide and locally. Since its inception in Vancouver, Crime Stoppers has led to 7500 arrests and over half a billion dollars in property has been recovered. CC Palmer re-entered the meeting at 1:33pm. There were questions by the Board regarding funding. Ms. Annis noted that funding is received through donations from the community. The Chair thanked Ms. Annis for the presentation and for the assistance that Crime Stoppers has provided to the police. Vancouver Police Board / Feb REGULAR MINUTES page 2

3 5. VPD Presentation: Citizens Crime Watch DCC Lemcke introduced Cst. Kal Petkov (Citizens Crime Watch) and Mr. Paul Goodman (Road Safety coordinator, ICBC Road Safety Department). Cst. Kal Petkov was a volunteer for Crime Watch for two years before becoming a VPD officer. Cst. Petkov provided a background on CCW, which is a volunteer based program for citizens who volunteer their time to provide additional eyes and ears to the Vancouver Police Department. There are a variety of crime watch groups throughout the country but the VPD s CCW program is unique. There are 125 volunteers from diverse backgrounds and communities, and the program receives tremendous support from the Department. The work the volunteers do is appreciated and recognized. The VPD s CCW Program has sophisticated equipment that has improved the safety of the volunteers. The program has also become selfsufficient in raising money for equipment and receives funding from ICBC, the Vancouver Police Foundation, and grants. Tax payers are not liable for any expenses related to the program. Cst. Petkov outlined how the program operates. There are meetings before each patrol where they go over crime statistics and photos of wanted criminals. The dedicated volunteers go out on patrol in their own vehicles and absorb all financial costs with the exception of a gas coupon that is received at the end of the night. Cst. Petkov noted that the volunteers do not get actively involved; they are only there to observe and report under the guidance of Cst. Petkov, who is their dedicated constable. With a dedicated constable there is no time delay in calling 9-1-1, and there is someone on hand to apprehend the criminals. The program was created in 1993, when the main focus was the reduction and prevention of auto crime stolen vehicles have been recovered by CCW volunteers since the inception of the program. Over the years the scope of the program has been expanded, and now combined projects with ICBC are taking place to target distracted drivers, and there is extra training in recognizing suspicious behaviour and understanding the basic concepts of surveillance. In 2014 CCW lead to 14 arrests, and in 2015 that number more than doubled to 32. Cst. Petkov briefed the Board on a success story where volunteers from CCW observed suspicious activity that lead to the timely solving of a homicide, and a dangerous person with mental health issues was taken off of the streets. Cst. Petkov also noted that CCW volunteers have been hired by different departments in law enforcement. ICBC Road Safety Coordinator Mr. Paul Goodman spoke to the long established relationship between ICBC and CCW. CCW has assisted in the reduction and prevention of auto crime, and distracted driving. To compliment the CCW program, CPC volunteers also operate a highly visible program called Cell Watch where motorists are educated about distracted driving. Mr. Goodman stated that ICBC recognizes and appreciates the great work being done by the CCW program volunteers and Cst. Kal Petkov. Cst. Petkov introduced CCW volunteer Mr. Danny Gelmon who was the recipient of the Community Safety and Crime Prevention Volunteer Award. Mr. Gelmon spoke to his experiences over the years as a volunteer for CCW and noted the increasingly sophisticated equipment that is being used, as well as the security features in place to protect the volunteers. There were questions by the Board on how volunteers are recruited. Cst. Petkov noted that there is a link on the website. CC Palmer thanked Mr. Goodman from ICBC and Ms. Annis from Crime Stoppers for providing such great support and being such valued partners to the VPD. CC Palmer noted that one of the main reasons the volunteers are retained is because Cst. Vancouver Police Board / Feb REGULAR MINUTES page 3

4 Petkov is an excellent coordinator and does a great job. CC Palmer also noted that Mr. Gelmon is a Super-Volunteer having completed 1100 shifts with CCW, and thanked him for his work. DCC Rai stated that recruiting ties in with the volunteer areas including CCW. CCW is one of the highly profiled programs at career fairs and during outreach. The Chair thanked for the presentation and thanked for the good work being done in the community. 6. Planning, Research & Audit 6.1 Report #1602P01: 2015 year End KPI Report The Chair requested an update on the increase in property crime, after many years of downward trending numbers. CC Palmer noted that although violent crime is down, the increase of property crime is a concern for the VPD. The CompStat program has been revamped with a new approach where members are being held more accountable at the meetings. The format has also been changed where certain aspects such as high incident locations are being looked at more closely. The VPD is working on a number of programs, and VPD staff from the entire Department are being pulled together to come up with a strategy to deal with some of these issues. CC Palmer provided context to the numbers by noting that the increase in property crime is a regional issue. The vast majority of departments are seeing an upward trend in property crime. A/DCC Wiebe outlined some steps that are being put in place to promote Protect Your Own Property. DCC Lemcke noted that the management in Operations meets to talk about topics of interest, with a big focus currently being put on property crime. There are a number of initiatives to try and reduce property crime. There were questions from the Chair regarding ICBC crash and auto crime data. Mr. Manojlovic noted that the latest communication the VPD had from ICBC regarding this data was in December where they anticipated the new database being fully functional by early The VPD is expecting data for all of 2014, 2015 and up to 2016 at which point the report can be updated to accurately reflect the complete information will then be the baseline year for new data. CC Palmer noted that although the VPD is able to pull data on car crashes, the information from ICBC is the most accurate as it includes all major and minor incidents. There were questions by the Board on the possible cause of the increase in property crime. DCC Lemcke noted that there are a number of factors causing the slow creep up in numbers and it is not related to one specific thing. CC Palmer noted that the increase in population has also added to the increase in numbers and that many of the petty crimes are driven by addiction. CC Palmer spoke to the good news stories regarding violent crime. There is a lower number of shots being fired, and violent crime numbers are heading in a positive direction. Crimes of violence with a mental health factor are down 21%, largely due to the Assertive Outreach Team. Motion to receive the report for information Vancouver Police Board / Feb REGULAR MINUTES page 4

5 6.2 Report #1602P02 RPM Revisions approved by the Executive The report was received for information. 7. Chief Constable s report CC Palmer briefed the Board on updates within the Department. On February 18 th the VPD held a media day at the Tactical Training Centre. 15 reporters attended, and were taken through a six hour day that comprised different training scenarios, de-escalation, and lesslethal force options. It gave the reporters a good perspective on what the members go through. CC Palmer noted that DCC Rai has created a twitter account (@deputychiefrai). The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police Information and Communications Technology Conference took place at the Hotel Vancouver Fairmont. There were 240 delegates from across the Country, talking about topical issues and IT related issues to policing. CC Palmer briefed the Board on an incident that took place two days prior, where off-duty VPD Sgt. Clive Milligan saw a house on fire and heroically rescued people inside as the house became engulfed in flames. CC Palmer also noted that a French Legion of Honour medal has been added to the medal cabinet in the lobby at 2120 Cambie. Retired VPD member and D-Day veteran Edward Leask was awarded the medal last year for helping with the liberation of France during the 1940 s. Retired Constable Edward Leask joined the VPD after the war and had a 30 year career as a Vancouver police officer. He passed away recently and his family has donated the medal to the VPD to become part of our history to put on display. 8. Correspondence & Information: Report #1602V04: Compliments Letters The report was received for information. 9. Opportunity for Enquiries from the Public No enquiries from members of the public. 10. Enquiries & other business from the Board No enquiries from the Board. Motion to adjourn. MOVED / SECONDED The Regular Meeting was adjourned at 2:10 TO BE APPROVED BY THE VANCOUVER POLICE BOARD ON April 14, 2016 Vancouver Police Board / Feb REGULAR MINUTES page 5