Police Services
Detailed Discussion
The most obvious thing to do is to give the police the resources they need by hiring and training more police officers. Public money should pay for public services, not private services for a select few. The NPA thinks otherwise.
Re-open closed community policing centers (CPC’s). In my work in communities, I have had the pleasure of working with community policing centers and they are of proven value when it comes to protecting – and building – communities. They are staffed by local residents who volunteer their time with the VPD providing liaison with an officer. They take care of obvious things such as volunteer neighborhood patrols, but also check in on elderly neighbors who might be isolated or home bound. They actively participate in community programs run by neighborhood houses and community centers. There used to be 10, but currently only 8. As you can see from the map, these 8 centers have to cover a lot of area. In some neighborhoods, it is worthwhile to have a CPC as opposed to having one CPC for a large zone.
A local CPC describes what it does in its neighborhood in its own words and its important to point out that they are also good value for the money. Most of the workers are volunteers and although each receives a small operating grant from the City, the CPC raises its own funds to support its activities.
Another important step is to find ways to reduce the demands on police resources that could be, and more properly handled by other services. For example, one approach would be to look for ways to release officers from having their time tied up with mental health calls (e.g., must stay with person until seen in emergency room which can be lengthy and ties up officer for a whole shift). This problem was outlined in a report released by the VPD called “Lost in Transition” in which over 30% of police calls were in response to mental health issues. I wrote a commentary on the report that appeared in the Vancouver Sun.
I would prefer to see the police do policing rather than become de facto mental health workers.
