The Vancouver Police Department has shared some troubling stats concerning the Downtown Eastside as the force installs new cameras in the area.
In a media release sent out on Friday morning, the VPD announced that eight new elevated safety cameras have been installed, including four at Main and Hastings streets and four at Carrall and Hastings.
“Despite significant progress, there’s still ongoing and imminent risk to residents and police officers. Now is not the time to let up,” said VPD Deputy Chief Howard Chai.
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While the VPD has shared some successes from Task Force Barrage, since the beginning of the year, 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.”
Although the Downtown Eastside accounts for only three per cent of the city’s population and two per cent of its geographical area, it is responsible for 30 per cent of all violent crime in Vancouver.
“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.”
Seemingly addressing privacy concerns, the VPD stated that the cameras will only record public spaces, will not record audio, and will not be used with facial recognition or AI. The cameras also won’t be used for traffic enforcement.
“Only authorized VPD employees will have access to recordings, which will be overwritten after four days unless required for criminal investigations.”
The cameras will replace two public safety trailers that were installed in April. The trailers were installed after an officer was attacked with a knife, two others had their uniforms set on fire, and a 92-year-old man was assaulted and died.