VPD linking "substantial increase" in open alcohol consumption to rising crime on Granville

Police are linking an exponential increase in open alcohol consumption to the surge in crime in Vancouver’s Granville Entertainment District.

Constable Tania Visintin, Vancouver Police Department (VPD) spokesperson, says that they’ve seen a “substantial increase in open consumption of alcohol in the downtown core.”

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Since the start of June, police officers have reported a 607% increase in liquor pour-outs on Granville Street compared to 2020, as well as an 84% increase since 2019.

VPD believes that this spike in alcohol consumption is what’s leading to an increase in crime in the Granville Entertainment District.

“The Granville Mall is a place people are congregating and drinking,” Visintin says in a release. “This, in turn, is leading to more and more disturbances, assaults, and other crimes occurring in the area that are fuelled by liquor.”

Police remind residents that there are a number of designated areas around Vancouver that allow for public alcohol consumption. Granville Street, however, is not one of them.