Mayor Ken Sim said Wednesday that the opening of a new community policing centre in the Woodward’s building in the Downtown Eastside is a direct response to residents calling for a safer community.
Sim opened his remarks at a news conference by thanking the Gastown Residents Association and others for “not giving up” on what he described as a “challenging neighbourhood.”
Drug activity, street disorder and poverty is visible every day in the area, where a 40-year-old Surrey woman was stabbed to death Sunday near Carrall and Water streets, a short walk from where Sim spoke Wednesday.
“Over the past couple of years, we've heard very clearly from the people that live and work here, including the Gastown Residents Association, that they want to feel safer, that they want more support, they want more connection between neighbours and a more visible [police] presence in the community when issues arise,” the mayor said from the atrium of the Woodward’s building.
“This new community policing centre is a direct response to that call.”
Former TD bank
Though the Gastown-Hastings Crossing Centre won’t serve as a satellite police precinct, it will be staffed with a neighbourhood police officer, some paid administrative staff and volunteers operating various crime prevention and community programs.
The centre, which was promised by the mayor in October 2024, is adjacent to the atrium and located in a storefront space formerly occupied by TD bank at West Hastings and Abbott streets.
The space is being leased from Westbank, which owns the Woodward’s building. The provincial government has promised a $1-million grant to lease the space over the next three years.
Vancouver’s other community policing centres, which are funded by the City of Vancouver but operated by non-profits, typically cost roughly $200,000 a year to operate. The Gastown-Hastings Crossing Centre is anticipated to cost closer to $350,000, according to deputy city manager Sandra Singh.
City staffers and police often refer to the centres as CPCs.
“This is a new space, it's a large space and we're creating opportunities to co-locate with other safety-oriented Downtown Eastside non-profits,” Singh said.
“We're looking at it as both a CPC and a safety hub. We're really looking for a bit of a CPC-plus model here that builds on the strengths of community organizations.”
Police Chief Steve Rai joined Sim at the news conference and talked about the need for a community policing centre in the Gastown-Hastings Crossing neighbourhood. The Downtown Eastside accounts for about 30 per cent of all violent crime in Vancouver, but is only two per cent of the geographic area.
“The resourcing for law enforcement here is a huge challenge, and the CPC will help us alleviate using those resources to do our core business, our core job — we’re crime fighters,” Rai said. “People shouldn't be criminalized for issues that don't need to be criminalized, and that starts at the grassroots level.”
'Growing concerns about safety'
Devon Boorman, board president of the Gastown-Hastings Crossing Community Policing Society, said the new centre will serve as a platform for residents, business operators and police to collaborate on crime prevention, education and outreach.
Safety patrols, victim support and crime reporting assistance were among the programs mentioned by Boorman, who emphasized the need to have a community-based response to issues in the neighbourhood.
“This is a vibrant and diverse community, and there is much to celebrate and admire here, but in recent years, businesses have expressed a lot of growing concerns about safety, rising crime,” he said.
The Gastown-Hastings Crossing Centre is Vancouver’s 13th community policing centre.
