Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO: Vancouver City Council

FROM: City Manager

SUBJECT: Urban Safety Commission: Vancouver’s Coalition For Crime Prevention and

RECOMMENDATION

POLICY

There is no specific Council policy related to this request. However, on July 29, 1996, Council endorsed the Creation of the Urban Safety Commission. As part of the activities of the Commission, Mayor Philip Owen on October 16, 1997 announced the formation of Vancouver’s Coalition for Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment.

PURPOSE

This report seeks Council approval for 1999 funding support for the activities of Vancouver’s Coalition for Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment. Funding will provide for the support and facilitation of partner actions to improve crime prevention and drug treatment throughout the City and most urgently in the Downtown Eastside.

Background

Vancouver’s Coalition for Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment was created in October of 1997 under the strategic leadership of the Urban Safety Commission. Since its inception, the Coalition has grown from 20 partners, to include over 47 formal partners, supported by a wide network of

interested community organizations. The Coalition represents a diverse cross section of community partners committed to taking actions to improve crime prevention and drug treatment in Vancouver.

The Coalition partners include:

Vancouver School Board

Vancouver Park Board

Vancouver Police Department

Odd Squad Productions

Vancouver Board of Trade

Vancouver Port Corporation

Vancouver International Airport Authority

Tourism Vancouver

University of British Columbia

Simon Fraser University

S.U.C.C.E.S.S.

Vancouver Foundation

United Way

VanCity Credit Union

Downtown Vancouver BIA

Vancouver Hotel Association

Rotary Club of Vancouver

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Health Canada

Insurance Bureau of Canada

Insurance Corporation of BC

Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI)

The Gathering Place

Kaiser Youth Foundation

The United Youth Movement

Collingwood Neighbourhood Safety Office

Canada Youth Against Drugs & Violence

The British Columbia Regiment

Vancouver Recovery Club

Vancouver Family Court & Youth Justice Ctte

Boys & Girls Club of Greater Vancouver

Taiwanese-Canadian Cultural Society

Hope in Vision

Downtown Vancouver Association

Downtown Eastside Youth Activities Society
(DEYAS)

Salvation Army

Mount Pleasant BIA

Mount Pleasant CPO

BARWATCH

Granville Street CPO

Gastown community Safety Society

Volunteer Vancouver

Kerrisdale BIA

Kensington Community Centre

Alcohol-Drug Education Service

First United Church

Robson Street BIA

  

Together, these partners have supported a number of important actions to address crime prevention and drug treatment in our City. Significant city-wide Coalition activities have included:

* a school drug awareness program sponsored by the Vancouver School Board, the Vancouver Police and the RCMP (on going)
* crime prevention seminars presented through a partnership between ICBC, the City and the Insurance Bureau of Canada (March through September 1998)
* a public education program presented through a partnership between CKNW, the City, the Vancouver Police, the RCMP, ICBC, the Insurance Bureau of Canada and BFI (on going)
* a neighbourhood watch "on-the-road" program supported by Browning Ferris Industries (waste disposal and recycling), in partnership with the Vancouver Police Department designed to prevent crime by reporting suspicious activity as their trucks do garbage pickups in the back lanes throughout Vancouver (on going)
* youth patrols in Stanley Park supported by ICBC working in partnership with the Vancouver Parks Board and the Vancouver Police to hire youth on bikes to patrol Stanley Park parking lots to deter auto thefts and break-ins (Spring and Summer 1998)
* International Symposium on Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment held in June 1998, sponsored by a number of Coalition partners including VanCity, ICBC, SFU, UBC, BC Pavilion Corp., Greystone Properties LTD., CKNW, the Lindesmith Centre, the DVBIA, the Vancouver Hotel Association, the RCMP, Air Canada and Marriott International Inc. (June 1998)

The Coalition is currently playing an instrumental role in assisting the City with its strategy for the Downtown Eastside. As well as providing the City with valuable community feedback related to the challenges addressed in the revitalization plan, the Coalition co-sponsored the application to the National Crime Prevention Council for federal funding to support this initiative.

Looking Ahead

1999 will be another very busy year for the Coalition. In addition to continuing projects started in 1998, a number of new initiatives will be undertaken. Many of these initiatives will relate to work that Coalition partners are doing in support of the DTES revitalization plan. As well as playing an important role in the community development and consultation component of the DTES revitalization plan, a number of Coalition partners have organized themselves into activity streams parallelling those outlined in the revitalization strategy. They include:

* Drugs and Alcohol
* Economic Development
* Youth Education
* Community Policing
* Housing
* Street Conditions
* Native Issues
* Women’s Issues
* Justice

Under these streams, Coalition partners are actively working to prioritize tangible actions in support of the revitalization strategy.

City-wide Perspective

Despite the heightened attention currently being directed toward the Downtown Eastside, Vancouver’s Coalition continues to have a city-wide focus. A Coalition Building Plan has been developed to reflect and further support this broad based, city-wide focus.

Overview of the Coalition Building Plan for 1999

Coalition Goals:

* The Coalition's goals are to involve the community in decreasing property crime and improving drug treatment.

Coalition Communication Objectives:

* To motivate all levels of government to work together to coordinate crime prevention and drug treatment efforts throughout the City.

* To raise public awareness about the need to improve crime prevention and drug treatment throughout Vancouver.

* To motivate community involvement in solutions by providing the public, particularly youth, with accurate information about crime prevention and drug treatment

Coalition Building Plan for 1999

This plan focuses on several key areas to help build and strengthen the Coalition, expanding its activities and its overall impact on Vancouver’s broader community.

Additional attention will be placed on expanding the numbers and variety of Coalition partners. This initiative will require the City’s continued leadership to encourage greater community involvement in crime prevention and drug treatment activities. The City will also need to continue efforts to include and co-ordinate all three levels of government as well as other relevant agencies in Coalition activities where appropriate.

In 1999, emphasis will also be placed on ensuring regular contact with Coalition partners encouraging them to continue contributing to crime prevention and drug treatment by involving their organizations in specific actions that compliment their mandate. Increased recognition for partner contributions to Coalition goals will be important during this building year. As well as working with individual Coalition partners, special support will be given to Coalition Teams working to contribute to the Downtown Eastside revitalization plan.

In order to balance the Downtown Eastside initiatives while maintaining the Coalition’s city-wide focus, it has been proposed that three new Coalition teams be formed focusing on crime prevention and drug treatment issues in other communities in Vancouver. Several other city-wide initiatives have been planned for the first six months of 1999 and include:

* Mayor’s Forums, to discuss Coalition actions throughout the City, gathering information about the general progress of the Coalition while also offering an opportunity to generate new ideas for action.

* Regional Mayor’s Forum, with the Mayor and Council of Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey, Delta and Port Moody to encourage a co-ordinated approach to crime prevention and drug treatment throughout the region.

* Proposed Drug Awareness Flyer, to be distributed city-wide, providing important up-to-date information to people about drug abuse, treatment options and key prevention techniques. The proposed flyer will contain a highly visibleFocus-on-Youth component.

Public Education

Another key area of activity for the Coalition in 1999 will focus around public education, bringing key messages associated with crime prevention and drug treatment to as broad an audience as possible, (e.g. governments, schools, and the public at large). Information will be tailored to communicate effectively with each audience. For example, information aimed at youth will have a different emphasis then information aimed at governments, the Board of Trade and/or other Coalition partners. As well as the proposed drug awareness flyer focusing on youth, the Coalition plans to introduce a new series of Public Service Announcements focused on the Downtown Eastside. These vehicles to increase public education will compliment the Coalition’s quarterly Newsletter and the bi-annual Coalition Discussion Paper, (on file in the City Clerk’s Office). Special attention will need to be given to developing stronger links with key Vancouver media, exploring the possibility for new media sponsors to compliment CKNW’s sponsorship, helping to distribute the Coalition’s messages about crime prevention and drug treatment throughout the City.

Other Jurisdictions

Finally, steps will be taken to monitor initiatives related to crime prevention and drug treatment being embraced in other cities throughout the world. This base of information will be shared with members throughout the Coalition, encouraging a more informed, broad based perspective to the issues at hand.

Many Coalition partners have, and will continue to invest considerable time and energy addressing issues related to crime prevention and drug treatment. Given the need for increased Coalition activity to help meet the demands of the Downtown Eastside as well as the ongoing benefits that will be realized through the expansion of Coalition activities within Vancouver, funds are requested to support the Coalition to continue its important work. The requested funds would be used to continue the public education process, to co-ordinate Coalition projects in the Downtown Eastside and throughout Vancouver and to continue Coalition building and communication through Coalition development.

The Coalition work in the Downtown Eastside has garnered national attention, resulting in greater opportunities for liaising with other cities in Canada suffering from the same concerns, (one of the requirements of the National Crime Prevention Program for funding the revitalization program). A modest travel budget has also been included to assist Coalition members to meet with counterparts in other parts of the country, to attend related events, and to bring resources to the Coalition as required.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The proposed budget for January - December, 1999 is $ 130,000, detailed as follows:

Project Co-ordination

$ 36,000

Public Education

$ 20,000

    consisting of:

-Quarterly Newsletter - $7,000

    - Discussion Papers - $1,000

    - Youth Drug Awareness Flyer* - $8,000

    - Partners Forums* - $4,000

Coalition Building - Partner Contact $ 60,000

    consisting of:

    - Coalition Liaison Officer

- $50,000

    - Administrative/Office/Technology Support - $10,000

Travel

$14,000

TOTAL

$130,000

CONCLUSION

Vancouver’s Coalition for Crime Prevention and Drug Treatment had an exciting year in 1998. From hosting the Symposium in June and the very successful Partner forums to being a co-applicant for the National Crime Prevention Centre funding for the Downtown Eastside Revitalization Program, the Coalition has made a name for itself across the country. This is due to the strong leadership and direction of Mayor Owen. He has taken Vancouver’s issues nationally to the federation of Canadian Municipalities conference and the Big City Mayors’ meeting where he has received overwhelming support from his colleagues. The Mayor, along with the community Partners and City staff, have developed proactive and innovative approaches to the issues facing every major urban centre in Canada.

* * * * *

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