Thursday, December 8, 2016

As a result of continued public interest in calls for police service in and around the area of 844 Johnson Street, this report provides information on calls for police service by police reporting period in the two blocks surrounding 844 Johnson Street. 

This report relates to calls for service for the area within Blanshard Street, Pandora Avenue, Quadra Street, and Yates Street as depicted below. 

While this data reflects calls for service in the noted area, it does not necessarily mean that all of the calls are related to the 844 Johnson Street location. 

The data has been extracted from the VicPD records management system and only represents calls for service to police. It is also important to note that data less than 6 to 8 weeks old is subject to change, due to the investigative and review process which sometimes results in call types being amended after their initial entry. 

It is important to note that the information contained in this report represents calls for service to the police department. Calls for service reports represent a snapshot of reported incidents that have some type of impact on the community and contact with police as compared with crime statistics alone. Calls for service include reports received by the public to police and incidents that are witnessed by officers and result in some type of police action. Calls for service represent both incidents that would be considered violations of federal criminal law (crimes) and situations that would be considered social issues that have an impact on the 

community (but are not necessarily crimes). Any reporting of this information should refer to this information as “calls for service” statistics, not “crime statistics.” 

The following represents calls for service to the area noted above between August 8th and December 2nd for the years 2015 and 2016. 

The following represents a breakdown of the types of calls for service to the area from November 5th to December 2nd for the years 2015 and 2016. 

Examples of call types in each category

Assist – Abandoned 911, assist fire department/police, check wellbeing 

Public Disorder – Causing a disturbance, noise bylaw, liquor act, weapons possession 

Other – Missing persons, warrant arrests, suspicious circumstances 

Traffic – Driving prohibitions, collisions, alcohol driving offences 

Property – Break and enter, fraud, theft, theft from vehicle 

Violence – Assaults, harassment, uttering threats 

Drugs – Drug seizure, drug possession, drug trafficking 

VicPD has worked closely with the community, businesses, 844 Johnson Street tenants, Portland Hotel Society, Island Health, BC Housing, and others as the transition of individuals from “Tent City” to 844 Johnson Street has occurred. Regular community meetings have allowed for information sharing, and challenges experienced in the neighbourhood to be relayed to the appropriate stakeholders in a timely manner.