ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: November 17, 1998
Author/Local: W.Au/6639
RTS No. 259

CC File No. 2151

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	Chief Constable, Director of Community Services-Social Planning and Director of Finance
SUBJECT:	Grant Allocations of Unused Portion of the 1998 Community Safety Funding Program

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Council approve two grants of $5,000 each to Musqueam Community Policing Centre and Chinatown Police Community Services Centre. The source of funding is unused funds from the 1998 Community Safety Grant allocations.

GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing.

POLICY

On October 25, 1996, Council approved establishment of the joint City of Vancouver and Ministry of Attorney General Community Safety Funding Program. Council also approved a three-year commitment (1997-1999) of an annual grant budget of $150,000, to be provided in its annual Operating Budget without offset. On February 5, 1998, Council approved $150,000 for the Community Safety Funding Program from the Other Grants budget for this fiscal year.

Approval of grant recommendation requires eight affirmative votes.

PURPOSE

This report recommends allocation of the remaining $10,000 in the 1998 Community Safety Funding Program: $5,000 to Musqueam Community Policing Centre to conduct a safety survey in the Musqueam, Dunbar and Southland neighbourhoods; and $5,000 to Chinatown Police Community Services Centre to implement a Safety Campaign and Crime Prevention Fair targeting the Chinese Community.

BACKGROUND

On February 5, 1998, City Council approved $150,000 for the City’s share of the 1998 joint
City/Attorney General Community Safety Funding Program. Council also approved 18 grants totaling $290,000 from this joint program. Council requested staff to provide more clarification on the community serviced by Musqueam Community Policing Centre.

DISCUSSION

The Musqueam Community Policing Centre is set up to serve residents living in the Musqueam Reserve as well as residents in the Dunbar and Southland neighbourhoods. Neighbourhood Police officer Constable Tim Fanning has been working with residents in all three neighbourhoods, encouraging participation on the Community Advisory Committee. Attempts have been made to ensure that residents from all three neighbourhoods explore common safety issues and problem solving strategies. The Community Advisory Committee is also considering setting up a satellite office in the Dunbar Community Centre. The current advisory committee with representations from all three neighbourhoods is now ready to conduct a community safety survey. They would like to find out about safety issues that residents are most concerned with, programs and activities residents are interested in, how to make linkages between neighbourhoods, and most of all taking the opportunity to recruit volunteers and increase participation. They also want to further discuss and examine the issue of “ ideal office location”. The $5,000 grant will enable them to conduct the survey and use the findings to plan for future crime prevention strategies in these neighbourhoods.

Chinatown Police Community Centre is partnering with S.U.C.C.E.S.S. to launch the “Chinese Community Crime Prevention and Safety Project”. This will include a major public awareness campaign and a Police Community Safety Fair. This special project aims to raise awareness of safety issues and personal responsibilities, encourage Chinese-speaking residents to participate in building and maintaining community safety, and at the same time provide them with necessary knowledge and skills in the prevention of crime in their local neighbourhoods.

The project will include a city-wide children and youth poster contest and a bilingual slogan contest involving adults and seniors, with the theme of community safety and crime prevention. Public launching of the poster will be at the 1999 Spring Police Community Safety Fair. Workshops on a variety of crime prevention topics will also be delivered in English, Cantonese and Mandarin languages at the Fair. The Fair will be held on the west side of the City where there are very few Community Policing Centres or crime prevention fairs for Chinese-speaking residents. Both the Chinatown Police Community Services Centre and S.U.C.C.E.S.S. have already committed staff resources to the planning of the project but do require some financial resource to assist in the co-ordination and organizing of the poster and slogan contest. The $5,000 grant will enhance the success of the project and will result in a bi-lingual crime prevention posters that could be used city-wide by community agencies and merchants.

Chinatown Police Community Services Centre and S.U.C.C.E.S.S. are both partners in the Vancouver Coalition of Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment. They have been actively working on developing a strategy to involve the grass-roots Chinese community residents in the area of crime prevention and safety.

CONCLUSION

Presently there are $10,000 unused funds in the 1998 Community Safety Funding Program.
The grant steering committee with representatives from the City, Vancouver Police Department and Ministry of Attorney General supports allocation of $5,000 to the Musqueam Community Policing Centre for implementation of a community survey and $5,000 to Chinatown Police Community Services Centre for the “Chinese Community Crime Prevention & Safety Project”.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver