ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: April 1, 1996
Dept. File: pra\aidsconf.rtc
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Chief Constable
SUBJECT: International Conference on AIDS -
Policing Costs (Contingency)
RECOMMENDATION
THAT Council approve funding of up to $60,000 for estimated
policing costs associated with the International AIDS Conference
to be held in Vancouver from July 6-12, 1996; source of funds to
be the 1996 Operating Budget.
CHIEF CONSTABLE'S COMMENTS
The Chief Constable RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing.
COUNCIL POLICY
There is no applicable Council policy.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to obtain contingency funding for direct
policing costs associated to the International Conference on AIDS
occurring on July 7th through July 12th, 1996.
BACKGROUND
The International conference on AIDS was first held in Washington D.C.
in 1988. Demonstrations at this conference were aimed at public
awareness of the lack of government funding towards research and a
cure for HIV. Police in Washington confronted demonstrators wearing
medical masks and surgical rubber gloves, which outraged Conference
attendees. Subsequent conferences have been targeted for
demonstrations aimed at confrontation. In San Francisco, 1990, the
demonstrations resulted in violent confrontations with Police. In
contrast, the 1989 Conference in Montreal was virtually uneventful.
In planning for policing this event, which has 15,000 attendees,
general public safety is the highest priority.
DISCUSSION
This Conference is the largest ever held in Vancouver. The Conference
has traditionally been a venue for optimizing media coverage of the
HIV issues in the scientific, political and public arenas. The group
"ACTUP", from San Francisco, is known to be attending. This group has
been extremely confrontational with both the public and police and at
times resorts to violence. To ensure the City is adequately prepared,
contingency plans and deployment models must be prepared and in place
prior to the event. The approval of necessary funding will allow a
pro-active policing plan to be developed and result in minimal impact
on the Police Department's ability to provide service during the
Conference.
In order to police an event of this magnitude, which has several
venues, over six days, the following extraordinary costs have been
identified. These costs are over and above the day-to-day policing of
the city and represent a projected maximum level of deployment, for
example, inclusion of the Crowd Control Unit.
- Basic Deployment Level
- Patrol, Traffic, Reserve Police:
one Squad per day for 6 days $45,000
- Transportation 3,000
- Crowd control Unit: called in for major
demonstrations where the event is known
from intelligence sources. Staff project
two major demonstrations at $6,000 each: 12,000
TOTAL $60,000
This option assumes prior knowledge of a major demonstration to
allow for pre-deployment. Spontaneous demonstrations requiring
additional resources may result in further increases policing
costs.
CONCLUSION
The International Conference on AIDS, to be held at the Vancouver
Trade and Convention Centre, attracts public and media attention
worldwide. This conference is the largest to be held in Vancouver.
At previous conferences violent confrontations have occurred between
demonstrators and police. The Police Department, through the special
event planning section (OAS), will make every effort to proactively
mitigate any confrontational demonstrations. Past experiences have
shown this is not always possible. It is therefore recommended that
Council approve basic policing costs of $48,000 and the Crowd Control
Unit standby deployment for the two projected demonstrations, at
$12,000, totalling $60,000. This will ensure the City is adequately
prepared for any emergent incident at the venues of the International
Conference on AIDS.
* * * * *