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Vancouver remains property crime capital

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Vancouver remains property crime capital of Canada
By Terry Hadley
October 25, 2006, Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle

Park

The Vancouver Board of Trade released its new Kids 'N Crime: Report on Development of Criminality Among Children and Youth (PDF/868kb) at the annual Policy Forum^TM on crime when distinguished panellists, including Vancouver Chief of Police Jamie Graham and Chief Judge Hugh Campbell Stansfield, teamed up to each give an update on combating crime in Vancouver.

Dave Park, chief economist and assistant managing director, The Vancouver Board of Trade
Park gave two report presentations. Despite a modest reduction in crime rates, the Board's Crime in Canada, Crime in Vancouver — An Update shows Greater Vancouver has held on to its title as Canada's worst major metropolitan area for property crime and is the bank robbery capital of Canada thanks mainly to drug addiction, inadequate treatment facilities, insufficient police and prosecution resources and weak sentencing.

In 2005, more than 140,000 property crimes, costing $125 million, were reported in Vancouver, the large majority committed by a small number of criminals involved in drugs. "Although we have made some progress, thanks to amendments to the Trespass Act and passage of the Safe Streets Act, when you consider we still had 45 car break-ins every day last year in the City of Vancouver, and that two thirds of all crimes in Canada are not reported, you can see we still have a long way to go," said Park.

The Board is calling for additional Crown Counsel resources, more resources to prevent and treat drug addicts and those with mental problems, and longer sentences for repeat offenders.

The Kids 'N Crime report, prepared for The Board by psychologist Alasdair Maughan, analyzes the making of a criminal with a view to stimulating discussion on the benefits of early intervention and preventative measures.

"While each of these types of developmental risk factors could lead to chronic criminal activity, they really need to be seen as a continuum," said Park. "The more risk factors are present, the more likely that child will become a criminal. Take a look at our prison population and you'll see an overwhelming overrepresentation of these factors. We need to focus on prevention and deal with these negative influences as early as possible in each child's life."

Influential risk factors faced from birth to adulthood, and prevalent in today's prison population, include poor reading skills, poor nutrition, learning disabilities, illicit drug use, adolescent peer pressures and poor parenting. "While there are many risks in childhood and adolescence, thankfully, there are many opportunities to minimize those risks," said Park. "We can either pay now, or pay much more later when dealing with the consequences of these children growing up to become criminals."

Stansfield

Hugh Campbell Stansfield, chief judge, Provincial Court of British Columbia
Stansfield outlined the functions of the new Community Court, set to open within the next few months. He took Red Hook Community Centre set up in a crime-ridden area of the U.S. as an example of a Community Court in action. The Centre helps defendants overcome drug dependence, it has a youth centre providing positive peer pressure and volunteer residents are responsible for cleaning up their community of graffiti.

The crime rate decreased and the area went two years without a homicide, while quality of life improved because the community started caring about what was happening. "On our own, we won't solve those street crime problems," Stansfield said. Community Courts proposed for B.C. will act as catalysts to gain a "broader response" involving social services, housing and employment agencies.

Stansfield said this was the first time this type of discussion had ever gone on in the justice system. "We can all work together," he said. He also issued an invitation to The Board of Trade to take part in the discussions. "We want you to understand that we want to invite the community into the court." Stansfield said the new system will also welcome input on suitable "visible restitution" enabling criminal offenders to "give something back to the community in a visible way."

And many other areas have to be looked at to reduce crime, such as dealing with mental health challenges which develop into addictions, along with housing issues "at the core." "Better housing is the key," Stansfield concluded, adding that in New York, which was successfully tackling its crime problem, non-profit organizations provide housing "beyond anything we've seen in British Columbia." 

Graham

Jamie Graham, chief constable, Vancouver Police Department Graham explained that although many people are calling for more police officers, those numbers are allocated according to the population living within the 44 square miles of Vancouver and that every year, a detailed business plan goes through "a very difficult budgeting process" presented to the Police Board and city council. "And the Board of Trade has supported us with this," he added.

Graham outlined current problems and possible solutions the department faces in righting crime:

• Non-returnable warrants: Of the 600 Vancouver criminals checked in March, half were also wanted under non-returnable warrants; i.e., they had committed crimes in other jurisdictions such as Alberta or Toronto (where the warrant is only valid for a 40-mile radius) and are not tried for those offences when they appear in a Vancouver court.

In the U.S., crossing a boundary to flee an arrest is added as an additional offence, a possibility federal Justice Minister Toews has been examining for Canada. Meanwhile, the majority of justices "all agree this is a big problem," mainly, according to Graham, due to the cost of sending an officer on a plane to fetch the criminal back to the province where the crime was committed.

• Repeat offenders: Graham described how the Offenders Unit was set up specifically to concentrate on targeting criminals with seven fresh arrests in one year, but the demand outstripped resources as there are 800 such criminals in Vancouver. The number of qualifying arrests was hiked to 12 as a result, of which there are 80 in Vancouver, and the unit "goes after one at a time," working closely with prosecutors and taking a maximum two days to make an arrest.
• Bail: Graham outlines how everyone is entitled to bail in Canada unless they fail to appear or are a danger to the public. The result is many Vancouver criminals are out on multiple bails already granted in Ontario and Alberta before they commit a crime in Vancouver, where they are promptly let out on bail again. The answer, according to Graham, is not to allow bail if they are already out on bail from other jurisdictions.
• Youth: Graham welcomed The Board's Kids 'N Crime report with the news that every police chief is reporting "young violent offender crime everywhere is up," and that all studies agree that "increased literacy reduces crime rates," showing the need for quality early childhood education and the promotion of literacy programs. Involvement in crime preventative programs is important. "This is the soft side of policing," said Graham. "But half of what we do should be prevention — more than what we are able to do right now."

Graham agreed with Stansfield that homelessness is another important factor when looking at crime. "When someone is down on their luck, the first stage to recovery is, they must have somewhere stable to go," he said, describing how drug dealers currently kick people out of hotel rooms to use them as dealing centres, many of the victims suffering from mental health problems.

Graham said the public must also take some responsibility in fighting crime. He warned the day will soon be here when people will not be able to get insurance without an alarm or immobilizer. "You have to take personal responsibility for your own property. You can't keep relying on police," he said.

Baker

Laurie Baker, manager, Road Safety, Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC)
Baker urged everyone to invest in electronic immobilizers, reporting that a vehicle is stolen in Vancouver every 20 minutes. Despite this, the introduction of the bait car program in 2002 has resulted in the Vancouver vehicle theft rate being on track to hit an all-time low since 1986. Thefts this year so far are 30 per cent down on the same time period in 2004.

While Seattle's rate was 23 per cent lower than Vancouver in 2003, it was seven per cent higher by 2005. And while the rate in Surrey, which earned the title of "car capital of Canada," rose in 2003, it was falling in 2004 "again because of the bait car program," said Baker. The personal cost of car theft is also high. In 2004, there were 400 injuries resulting from auto thefts.

• View report: KIDS 'N CRIME: Report on the Development and Prevention of Criminality Among Children and Youth (PDF/868kb)
• View Baker's presentation (PDF/953kb)

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