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The Vancouver Police Board says a “full report” into a complaint about political motivations and arrest quotas for a crack down on crime in the Downtown Eastside will be delivered in June.
Director Allan Black has told a board meeting the complaint centred on the Vancouver Police Department’s “recent expectation of setting arrest quotas,” and the report into the complaint will be delivered by the board’s next meeting on June 19.
Agenda materials for the meeting on Thursday included a heavily redacted email to the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner from an anonymous whistleblower purporting to be a disenchanted Vancouver police officer.
The complaint from last month says the department arbitrarily set arrest quotas as part of Mayor Ken Sim’s “Task Force Barrage,” an initiative in the Downtown Eastside to crack down on drug-related and other violence and crime.
Outgoing Police Chief Adam Palmer told the meeting the task force’s work has led to large decreases in break-ins and robberies and violent crimes, which he called “incredible results” in reducing crime in the community.
Palmer says that there’s recently been a 25 per cent increase in assaults on officers, including high-profile cases of a slashing attack and another where an officer was set on fire.
“We’re really happy with the results even though we have had some adversity with officers assaulted,” Palmer said.
“The people that aren’t happy are the drug dealers, the chronic offenders, the organized crime members, the people who are causing hazards and grief and just violence toward people down in the Downtown Eastside, they’re not happy at all.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2025.
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