VPD whistleblower alleges arrest quotas in Downtown Eastside crackdown

1 week_ago 16

British Columbia·New

An email from the anonymous whistleblower is connected the docket for Thursday's gathering of the committee on with a corresponding missive from the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner asking the committee to instrumentality action.

Email from anonymous whistleblower connected the docket for Thursday's constabulary committee meeting

Ashley Joannou · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 23, 2025 7:46 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

Two officers successful uniforms and yellowish vests locomotion down a street

British Columbia's constabulary watchdog says the Vancouver Police Board indispensable look into an officer's allegation that apprehension quotas person been issued arsenic portion of Mayor Ken Sim's "Task Force Barrage" inaugural successful the Downtown Eastside.

An email from the anonymous whistleblower is connected the docket for Thursday's gathering of the board, on with a corresponding missive from the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner asking the committee to instrumentality action.

The complaints commissioner says it received a ailment from the VPD subordinate connected March 8, calling Task Force Barrage a "politically motivated crackdown" and saying those successful complaint person been "setting quotas."

The constabulary watchdog says that legally, the committee indispensable present initiate an probe oregon a study, inquire Chief Adam Palmer to motorboat an investigation, oregon disregard the ailment with reasons.

WATCH | Vancouver's caller program for patrolling the Downtown Eastside:

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim lays retired caller policing program for Downtown Eastside

Vancouver’s politician and constabulary Chief Adam Palmer jointly announced connected Thursday a semipermanent cognition to dismantle organized cause transgression and people predatory criminals successful Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. As CBC’s Chad Pawson reports, it’s portion of Ken Sim’s imaginativeness for the aboriginal of the DTES.

The Vancouver Police Department did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected the allegations.

Sim launched Task Force Barrage successful February, promising a semipermanent cognition "to dismantle organized transgression networks and people predatory criminals successful the Downtown Eastside and beyond."

An update past period said weapons seizures accrued 258 per cent successful the Downtown Eastside successful the archetypal 4 weeks of the task unit and that constabulary seized 197 weapons and made 204 Criminal Code arrests, an mean of astir 7 per day.

The email from the whistleblower says they were taught that officers had discretion to determine whether to complaint people.

"But present it's wide they don't worth their officers' discretion and decision-making, and [they're] mounting quotas. I don't deliberation this is ineligible oregon right," the email says.

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