Police officers watch a crowd on Granville Street in Vancouver last October. Vancouver police say there were 9,993 crimes along the strip last year, compared with 9,854 in 2016.DARRYL DYCK
Kalwinder (Kris) Thind was just doing his job on an early Saturday morning in late January when the 23-year-old event promoter at Vancouver's Cabana Lounge stepped into the street to break up a fight. In the resulting scuffle on the city's busy Granville Street entertainment corridor – captured by an onlooker's cellphone camera – Mr. Thind was fatally stabbed.
Mr. Thind's death has revived the debate about violent crime and public intoxication along an area known as the Granville strip, where a weeknight pedestrian-only section has fuelled the nightlife while also making the area a frequent subject of complaints from residents and businesses.
The Vancouver Police Department says crimes reported last year in the city's Central Business District, which includes the Granville Entertainment District, were at their highest level since 2003. There were 9,993 crimes last year, compared with 9,854 in 2016. Violent crime rates in the city increased 1.9 per cent in 2017, compared with a year earlier, with culpable homicides increasing 58.3 per cent.
A memo from the working group established last June to address violence along the Granville strip cited Vancouver police data that showed 289 incidents of fighting, 141 assaults, and 22 sexual assaults recorded in the Granville Entertainment District last year.
The apparent increase in violent crimes along Granville Street has prompted a city councillor to propose a series of measures for the area to address public safety.
George Affleck, a councillor for the Non-Partisan Association, is re-introducing a proposal for more diverse late-night transit options, more outdoor seating for restaurants and bars, and re-activating the CCTV cameras that were installed during the 2010 Olympics.
"Action is what I'm looking for," Mr. Affleck said. "Let's get proactive about this and see if we can implement things immediately."
Mr. Affleck expressed frustration at the city's slow response to addressing the issues in the Granville Entertainment District. There have been two deaths along the strip since he first introduced the proposal in 2013.
A proposal for extended serving hours to avoid having all bars empty at the same time is already being considered.
The Granville Entertainment District Working Group on Safety and Security, which was established last June, is expected to deliver a report on progress and recommendations to city council this April.
A memo from the working group, sent to council this week, outlined some of the recommendations being considered, including expanding the city's BarWatch program, launched in 2007 to keep gangsters out of clubs; increasing late-night public transit; using CCTV cameras; and performing a trial of a policy that limits entry to bars an hour before closing.
The memo also described a trial run of the Good Night Out Program last fall, which saw volunteers patrol the street and offer assistance to young women and other people in need during the busy weekend nights.
Charles Gauthier of the Downtown Business Improvement Association, a member of the working group, said the commission is largely aligned with what Mr. Affleck is proposing.
Mr. Gauthier said past initiatives to increase surveillance along the Granville Entertainment District have had positive effects on crime rates. The BarWatch program allowed bars to scan patrons' IDs and share that information with law enforcement.
He noted CCTV cameras are in place: "The technology is already there. It's just a matter of turning it on," Mr. Gauthier said.
Mr. Gauthier argued that initiatives such as the BarWatch program and security cameras have had a real impact on criminal behaviour in clubs, and on locating and charging people who commit crimes in the neighbourhood.
But the police department's crime statistics don't necessarily bear that out. Reported incidents of crime in the Central Business District dropped after 2008, but have been steadily climbing since 2012.
Constable Jason Doucette of the Vancouver police said that while he had not yet reviewed the contents of the city council motion, the department remains open to anything that could increase public safety. "[We're] willing to look at any new initiative to help keep the public safe in that area," Constable Doucette said.
As for reactivating the security cameras, Constable Doucette said: "I think we'll leave that one for [the city] to work out."