ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: November 28, 1995
Dept. File. No. cbpsts.rtc
To: Vancouver City Council
From: Chief Constable
Subject: Community-Based Policing - Status Report
INFORMATION
The Chief Constable submits this report for INFORMATION.
PURPOSE
This information report documents the status of the Vancouver Police
Department's strategies for implementing community policing.
BACKGROUND
On September 27, 1994, the Chief Constable presented a report to Council
describing his options for Community-Based Policing. In the report ten
implementation strategies were outlined. The Chief Constable also
committed, at that time, to report back to the Police Board and
subsequently City Council, prior to January 1996, on the status of those
strategies. This report is an interim status report and will be updated
prior to the Report to Council in 1996.
DISCUSSION
The following is the status of the strategies that were outlined in the
September 27, 1994 report to Council.
1. Boundaries and Team Sizes
Recognizing that a key to community policing is contact and
communication with local communities, the review of the Patrol District
boundaries and sizes was undertaken.
Minor adjustments have already been made in Patrol Boundaries. For
example, streets such as Broadway, which were previously split down the
middle by two districts, have been moved into one specific district.
This has permitted a more unified response to neighbourhood and core
business area problems.
In the interim, each patrol district has identified the distinct
neighbourhoods within each geographic area. Geographic and non-
geographic communities have been identified, recognizing the distinct
socio-economic and cultural/linguistic profiles existing in the area.
Following this evaluation, each district has now assigned the
responsibility for each community or grouping of neighbourhoods to
specifically identified patrol supervisors and patrol officers. This
permits the community direct access to police members who are
responsible for their specific neighbourhoods.
2. Community Police Offices
Significant improvements have been made in affording neighbourhoods
decentralized access to police services through the use of community
police offices and visitation programs.
Due to the rapid expansion and the popularity of these programs it
became apparent a criteria for the development of future offices was
needed. A criteria for the formation of future offices and alternate
programs has been developed and is currently being utilized in
Kitsilano. (A copy of that criteria is attached as Appendix A.) All
existing programs will now be evaluated to determine whether they fit
the criteria. It may be necessary to consolidate some of the offices to
ensure maximum benefit to the neighbourhoods they serve.
It has become readily apparent that one model for community police
offices cannot be applied universally throughout the City. The Police
and the Community have therefore tailored the access to police services
to suit the particular needs and requests of the customers in specific
neighbourhoods. Citizens can now access police services at:
(a) Police/Community Service Centres:
i) Vancouver Police Native Liaison Society Storefront Project,
239 Main Street
ii) Chinatown Police Community Services Centre,
18 East Pender Street
These offices are managed by full time staff. In addition to
access to the police, they provide professional services through
trained counsellors.
(b) Community Crime Prevention Offices:
i) Joyce Street Community Crime Prevention Office,
5156 Joyce Street
ii) Mount Pleasant Community Crime Prevention Office,
672 East Broadway
iii) Broadway Station Community Crime Prevention Office, Broadway &
Commercial (opening Fall 1995)
iv) Little Mountain/Riley Park Safer Communities Office,
3998 Main Street
Broad-based community involvement is the key characteristic of
these offices. While they received start-up funding through
provincial and municipal grants, they are supported by funding from
local citizens and businesses. They are staffed and administered
by neighbourhood volunteers under the direction of a citizen's
consultative board. Fiscal control is through accepted business
practice and the requirements of the Societies Act. The success of
these offices is directly attributable to the hard work of
dedicated community volunteers who are actively working to improve
their own neighbourhoods. The police function as a liaison, assist
with crime prevention programs and work with the volunteers to
solve community problems. The neighbourhood police officers also
use these offices as administrative bases for report writing and
other duties.
(c) Neighbourhood Police Offices:
i) West End Community Police Resource Centre,
780 Denman Street
ii) Waterfront Hotel Community Services Centre,
900 Canada Place Way
iii) North False Creek Community Police Centre,
1223 Pacific Boulevard
iv) Gastown Neighbourhood Police Office,
12 Water Street
v) Strathcona/Hastings North Neighbourhood Police Office,
Strathcona Community Centre, 601 Keefer Street
vi) Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood Safety Office,
12 East Hastings
vii) Britannia Community Police Office, Britannia Community Centre,
1651 Napier Street
These offices are established in conjunction with either a local
business, business improvement association, local community centre
association or community group. Funding comes from the community
for the office facilities. Police officers work out of these
offices to bring crime prevention programs and problem-solving
strategies to the neighbourhood
serviced by the office. They may also handle walk-in crime reports
or intelligence. The volunteer base assists the police officers
who are assigned to these offices. These offices offer a valuable
alternative to the neighbourhood to access their neighbourhood
police officers. A committee is currently developing policy which
will allow us to defer calls to these offices to be dealt with by
the Neighbour Police officer. This will be done on an experimental
basis.
(d) Police Visitation Programs:
i) Kensington Police Visitation Program, Kensington Community
Centre, 5175 Dumfries Street
ii) Musqueam Police Visitation Program, 6615 Salish Drive
iii) West Point Grey Police Visitation Program, West Point Grey
Public Library, 4480 West 10th Avenue
iv) Kerrisdale Police Visitation Program, Kerrisdale Community
Centre, 5851 West Boulevard
vi) Kitsilano Police Visitation Program, Kitsilano Community
Centre, 2690 Larch Street
vii) Marpole/Oakridge Visitation Program, Marpole Community Centre,
59th Avenue and Oak Street
These programs have been established in areas of the City where the
community and the police have not felt a strong need for a
permanent office. It involves police officers being available for
consultation in community centres and other sites on a pre-
scheduled basis and is another alternative to centralized police
service delivery. Police Officers are present at the designated
site at the scheduled times to consult with citizens from various
neighbourhoods regarding neighbourhood issues or problems. For
example, citizens with long standing neighbourhood crime problems
can discuss them with their local police and work out solutions.
Non-Emergency Crime reports are taken from victims and witnesses
during these visits along with crime prevention and personal safety
advice given by the police officers. These visits occur weekly at
all sites.
3. Linkages and Measures in the Community
A vast body of criminological literature has accumulated over the past
decade concerning the need to find alternative ways to evaluate success
in policing. In the initial community policing report, we outlined a
number of objectives in this regard including assessing fear levels,
measuring public confidence and satisfaction with our service, and
documenting our problem-solving efforts. Of course, fundamental changes
in the modes of police service delivery can only take place
incrementally.
Because there is little money from public sources with which to do
police-related research, we are exploring alternatives. Victim Services
Volunteers have conducted "Citizen Satisfaction Surveys", and we are
working to expand the pool of volunteers who would like to take part in
doing survey research. We have made arrangements with faculty at
various universities to have students enrolled in fourth-year crime
prevention courses function as field researchers for appropriate
projects.
The research design specifics of any of these projects go beyond the
scope of this summary report; however, the focus of each is on measuring
how our efforts are enhancing the livability of our City, and you will
be advised of our findings in future reports.
4. Flattening the Rank Structure
Considerable efforts over the past year have been focused on reviewing
the current organizational structure. The commitment to review was
based on two principles of Community Policing, namely:
(a) decentralization of decision-making; and
(b) empowerment of local neighbourhood officers and lowering of
decision making to an appropriate level.
Both principles were viewed as vital in order to adopt Community
Policing as a central theme for the organization, in that they promoted
the key features of partnership, communication and problem solving.
Therefore on April 10, 1995 a formal restructuring proposal was
presented to the Police Board. Phase One of the restructuring proposal
was implemented in June 1995.
The plan calls for three phases to be completed over approximately
thirty-six months. It is proposed that the current eight ranks be
reduced to five. There will be significant enrichment of the role of
the Constable through empowerment at the street level and the creation
of investigative assignment opportunities. Additionally there will be
an increase in expertise from civilians where appropriate. The change
from two Deputy Chief Constables and five Superintendents to a six
Deputy Chief Constable model has occurred and is functioning well.
5. Advisory Groups
Recognizing that community policing requires meaningful dialogue with
the communities which make up Vancouver, and that the delivery of police
service needs to be oriented toward the concerns and needs within the
community, we are continuing to establish community advisory groups
throughout the City. These groups are not being established to oversee
or govern police activities, asthis role properly belongs with the
Police Board, rather they are intended to strengthen and support an
ongoing, meaningful dialogue between the police and the existing
neighbourhoods.
Three advisory structures have been created:
(a) Community Advisory Groups:
These groups function at the Patrol managers level with the
following objectives:
i) to work in partnership with patrol managers and neighbourhood
officers working in communities;
ii) to maintain a direct communications link with local
neighbourhood groups;
iii) to discuss with patrol managers concerns unique to the
distinct neighbourhoods in each Patrol District;
iv) to discuss with patrol managers issues relating to community
policing within the distinct neighbourhoods.
The composition includes representation from the diverse
communities identified in each Patrol District. Over the past
several years separate advisory groups have been established for
each distinct neighbourhood or neighbourhood groupings. At present
there are 19 Advisory Groups throughout the City. Six to ten
citizens make up each Group. These groups meet either monthly or
quarterly depending on the needs of the neighbourhood.
(b) Diversity Advisory Meetings:
These meetings, which will be commencing in December with the Chief
Constable, have the following objectives:
i) to permit the Chief Constable a direct communications link
with the diverse groups that compose the City s distinct
neighbourhoods;
ii) to permit citizens to discuss directly with the Chief
Constable issues concerning community policing.
Candidates for each Diversity Advisory meeting are selected from
members of the various Community Advisory Groups. Representative
are currently being identified and an introductory meeting will be
scheduled for December.
The recent establishment of a Community Diversity Relations Unit,
headed by an Inspector, will complement the initiatives of the
Diversity Advisory Meetings by providing an ongoing link between
the Department and our diverse communities. The unit will
coordinate initiatives in the areas of recruiting, training and
communications.
(c) Special Issues Meetings:
These meetings permit the Chief Constable a direct communications
link to a specific community, organization, religion, or gender, on
an "as needed basis", to advise the Chief Constable on an issue
concerning that specific community, organization, religion, or
gender.
Members of the Community advisory groups will be helpful in
identifying suitable representatives from the specific groups. For
example, if an issue arises concerning the Gay/Lesbian community,
representatives from that community, may be asked to meet with the
Chief Constable to advise on this issue.
6. Handling of Severe Victimization Offenses
An extensive review of the handling of severe victimization has been
completed. We established the framework for a new Domestic Violence and
Criminal Harassment Unit with the Unit operational by February 1996.
It was determined that the community would be best served by providing
more resources to address two serious problems: domestic violence and
criminal harassment.
Domestic violence is endemic in our society and has devastating
consequences for both the individual victims, and society as a whole.
Criminal harassment (stalking) is also a serious problem and can be
closely linked to domestic violence. The report proposes that the new
unit assume responsibility for identifying and following-up on all
criminal harassment cases and high-risk domestic violence cases. The
unit will provide a service to victims right from the initial
investigation to the actual trial and beyond.
Negotiations are being conducted with the Ministry of Social Services
and Housing, since it is recommended that the unit be staffed with
teams of police investigators and social workers. This proactive
approach is intended to reduce the incidence of repetitive
victimization. The Gove Enquiry Report is expected to address these
issues and could provide the incentive for a joint approach.
Overall funding for this unit remains a concern since, for the most
part, this will be new work with no corresponding decrease in the
current work load of other sections. Discussions will have to occur
with a variety of service providers to explore funding alternatives.
7. Linkages with other Service Providers
The significant progress made in the area of Integrated Service Teams is
documented in a companion report to Council. It is however important to
note that, under the auspices of the Office of the City Manager, the
Police Department has been a full partner in the development of the
Integrated Service Delivery Model and remains totally committed to the
concept.
The coordinated approach between other service providers on a
neighbourhood level is already paying dividends. An example of one of
the many successes of this approach is one that involved some houses in
the Kensington-Cedar Cottage area. These houses had become the focus of
multiple calls to the police department, involving drug activities,
unruly parties, assaults, area thefts and break and enters. The rapid
intervention of the local Integrated Service Team resulted in the
collaboration of numerous civic departments, and ultimately led to an
expedited demolition of the houses. The neighbourhood received quick
relief and the department was able to reduce the calls for service to
that area.
The ability to rapidly convene a meeting with actual staff
representatives from the affected civic departments contributes
immensely to the successful outcome of a neighbourhood's problems.
Whereas previously it might have taken a considerable length of time to
address a particular problem, or it might have been beyond a single
department's capacity to solve, solutions are now being arrived at
collectively and in a time frame that benefits the community.
Recent developments have involved a linkage occurring between the
Community Crime Prevention offices and the local Integrated Services
Teams. This further linkage with local constituents is another benefit
of the Integrated Service Delivery Model.
8. Direct Data Entry
The need to reduce patrol officers administrative time in order for them
to be able to get back out into the community and move away from solely
reactive work is still viewed as a high priority.
On April 12, 1995, a two phase Direct Data Entry project was presented
to City Council for funding approval. Phase One involving improvements
to the Communication section call-taker workstations was approved at
that time. In addition to increasing the availability of call-takers to
handle non-emergency crime reporting, it will permit more reports to be
verbally entered by Break and Enter Investigation Units thereby freeing
up other patrol officers to address other patrol needs.Phase Two, the
computerization of patrol report writing workstations scheduled for
1996, has received partial funding approval. Approval of the remainder
of the funds will allow for direct data entry of patrol reports. These
reports are currently written by hand and then entered into a records
management system by civilian data entry clerks. Not only will this
permit timely access to data for follow-up investigators, but it will,
in the longer term, permit officers to focus more on police work in the
community as opposed to administrative requirements in the office.
9. Perceptions and Marketing
Continuous improvements are being made in the area of both internal and
external communications. Internally, the departmental Newsletter has
been revamped to more clearly focus on the dissemination of information
to our employees. We are discussing our communications with an outside
consultant to ensure that we can appropriately convey to the community
the changes which are occurring.
10. The 665-3321 Report Line
On July 25, 1995, Council approved funding for a Voice Mail system. A
consultant is currently finalizing a research recommendation which will
incorporate the needs of the Police Department and the initial needs of
the Fire Department. It is anticipated that a system will be
operational in early 1996.
Once operational the system will significantly improve community members
access to their neighbourhood patrol officers and to specialty sections
within the department. The system will also allow for improved service
on the 665-3321 report line, permitting operators to call citizens back
rather than have them wait on the line to report a non-emergency crime.
CONCLUSIONS
The Police Department and Police Board remain firmly committed to
Community-Based Policing as it's central theme. We have embarked on a
process of continuous improvement and feel that concrete changes have
occurred in areas such as, personal contact and communication with local
neighbourhoods, decentralized access to policing services and
integration with other civic services. Organizational restructuring
will ensure that management systems are implemented to support our
goals.
We shall continue to consult with stakeholders to ensure that we orient
our services to the needs of individual neighbourhoods, while still
maintaining a strong central response and investigative capability.
* * * APPENDIX A
Page 1 of 1
CRITERIA:
- Community Crime Prevention Offices
- Neighbourhood Police Offices
As we are starting to receive numerous requests for information from the
Community regarding the establishment of future Community Crime
Prevention Offices and Storefronts, criteria has been established so
that they realize there is a defined standard that must be met.
District Managers, in consultation with the Community, should consider
the following:
(a) Should have broad based community support;
(b) Placement of the office should allow ready access by the public and
should be safe for users and staff;
(c) The neighbourhood should have actual public safety and crime
related problems which demonstrate the need for an office to
address the problems;
(d) The Office must have a Volunteer Board representative of the
community which includes the local Police Manager or designate;
(e) Fiscal control should be through accepted business practices, and
the requirements of the Societies Act;
(f) Participants are subject to screening by the Vancouver Police
Department; and
(g) Baseline measurement should be established, for each individual
office, against which effectiveness will be determined.
The Vancouver Police Department will provide support to endorsed
Community Crime Prevention Offices and Storefronts which are established
in partnership in the following manner:
- telephone and fax line
- personnel (at the discretion of the District Managers)
- crime and statistical data
- training for volunteers
- assistance in program delivery, e.g., Block Watch
- membership (representation) on Consultative Board
- crime prevention literature, material, and training.