New community policing centre opens in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside

A new Vancouver community policing centre is opening in Gastown and Hastings Crossing in partnership with the city and the police department.

The Gastown-Hastings Crossing Community Policing Centre (GHX CPC) will offer various crime prevention and outreach programs, including safety education, crime reporting, and initiatives such as community clean-ups, graffiti paint-overs, and neighbourhood safety walks.

"Community policing centres aren't traditional police stations," Mayor Ken Sim said at a news conference on Wednesday.

"They're not just about enforcement, they're about people. They're about building trust, strengthening relationships, and creating safer communities from the ground up."

Sim said the opening of the new community policing centre at 109 West Hastings St. is a direct response to businesses wanting to feel safer in their community.

He said the centre will be a community safety hub where people can ask questions, report concerns and learn about resources.

The centre will host front-line police officers for engagement but will be primarily staffed by trained volunteers and civilian staff, according to its website.

Vancouver Police Chief Constable Steve Rai said the community policing centre is "definitely needed" in the neighbourhood because of its crime rate.

He said the Downtown Eastside accounts for about 30 per cent of all violent crime in Vancouver, but is only about two per cent of the city's geographic area.

Rai said his experience working at the Davie Street community policing centre was the most rewarding assignment in his career.

"It was because we were able to talk to people at the ground level to help fix those little problems before they become problems … where you're calling 911."

The Gastown-Hastings Crossing Community Policing Centre will be run by an independent non-profit society staffed and governed by community members working in partnership with the VPD.

Sandra Singh, deputy city manager, said the city spends about a "couple hundred thousand dollars" a year on community policing centres, and estimated the GHX CPC would cost a little bit more due to its larger size.

She noted the goal will be to have the centre open seven days a week and expand the centre and its hours as it grows.

The province gave a one-time $1-million contribution toward the development of the centre.

Landon Hoyt, executive director of the Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association, said the new centre is one way to move toward a more community-focused approach to safety.

He noted it will be more than a hub for policing.

"It provides a drop-in centre, a stop-over space for our safety patrols, Gastown safety patrols, the EMS bike patrols, things like that."

"It's really a place to better co-ordinate these safety approaches in the neighbourhood."