Few have faith in police chief's vow to cut crime: A federal Reform MP
and social activists predict the chief will fail in his campaign to
cut robberies and thefts.

By: Harold Munro and Scott Simpson

Everyone from a federal Reform MP to social activists on the Downtown
Eastside predict Vancouver's police chief will fail in his drive to
cut city property crime nearly 70 per cent over the next three years.

``To curb property crime you must curb the causes of property crime,''
said Randy White, Reform MP for Fraser Valley West, and the party's
justice critic.

John Turvey, executive director of the Downtown Eastside Youth
Activities Society, said the idea that police can take such a big bite
out of crime on their own is a ``total fallacy.''

``Do we find that he is a bit naive?'' asked Turvey. ``Yes, we do.''

New police chief Bruce Chambers announced Wednesday his aim to reduce
breakandenters by 64 per cent, car theft by 57 per cent and
robberies by 69 per cent.

The reductions would bring Vancouver's property crime rate, the
highest in the nation, in line with the average in other big Canadian
cities.

Chambers, who has offered no specifics on how he'll do it, said
Thursday he will unveil his crimefighting strategy in a couple of
weeks. He has said he wants more of an emphasis on community policing,
but rules out adding more officers to the force.

According to police statistics, there were 155,471 property crime
offences in Vancouver between July 1995 and June of this year a
daily average of 170 crimes.

A criminologist at Simon Fraser University agreed with White and
Turvey that what drives property crime is, as with other types of
crime, is beyond the control of police.

``I don't think it is reasonable to expect the police to effect these
changes in three years,'' said Neil Boyd.

Boyd and other critics listed some of the obstacles that stand between
Chambers and his crimereduction targets: junkies who steal to feed a
habit; kids who do not respect property rights and steal for kicks;
consumers who buy stolen goods from secondhand stores; federal
searchandseizure laws that police say are inadequate.

Even Chambers and veteran Vancouver police officers concede they will
need help from outside agencies including other Greater Vancouver
municipalities, the court system, federal and provincial governments
and the public.

Police say a typical thief in Vancouver is male, age 25 to 40 years,
with a criminal record that includes violent crime and possibly a drug
addiction.

One recent trend is the commuter thief who steals from people in
Vancouver but lives in another municipality. Often they have been
displaced from a rooming house in the Downtown Eastside, which is
undergoing gentrification.

Turvey said the shortage of affordable housing combined with
oversubscribed social programs makes for more rather than less
property crime. For example, the city's youth detox centre, which
treats addicts under age 25, turns away at least 30 clients for every
one they help because there is not enough money to go around.

Deb Mearns chairs a steering committee representing social agencies on
the Downtown Eastside that met this week with Chambers to discuss
their concerns and his objectives.

Mearns operates the Downtown Eastside Neighborhood Safety Office,
which does not have enough money this month to pay the phone bill let
alone employ staff.

The $20,000 in funding this year from the city and attorneygeneral's
ministry ran out recently. The province promised more money but it
hasn't come. The rent is paid until the end of the year, but Mearns
said the office will have to close before then unless additional money
for operating costs is found.

The office counsels highrisk kids, helps identify street people, and
monitors area businesses for involvement in the drug trade or sale of
stolen goods.

Just the type of program, Mearns said, that the police chief needs
behind him if some of the root causes of crime are going to be dealt
with.

City hall does have tough regulations for pawnshops, but secondhand
stores have simply replaced them as the hot spot for thieves to sell
their goods

And Vancouver police Constable Richard Akin said efforts to curtail
property crime with tough new restrictions on pawnshops is hurt by a
lack of similar bylaws in neighboring communities.

Police say new pawnshops have sprung up in the suburbs including
Surrey, Coquitlam, North Vancouver and Burnaby where requirements
for documenting the purchase of items are less rigorous.

In particular, SkyTrain nicknamed ``CrimeTrain'' by police is
used by thieves to carry stolen property to pawnshops outside of
Vancouver, Akin said.

White said the federal government has a role to play in curbing
property crime. The Reform party has called for tougher penalties for
young offenders and a Canadawide war on drugs campaign.

The MP said property crime is a big concern every where he goes in the
country.

``One of the fastest growing industries in the country today is in
home alarm systems,'' he said.

Akin also said that federal laws regarding search and seizure have
blunted the ability of police to obtain convictions against thieves
experienced at using the law to their advantage.

A veteran Downtown Eastside beat cop, Akin related a classic case of
how police believe the Criminal Code coddles thieves.

Two years ago, travelling along West Hastings in a police cruiser,
Akin saw a suspicious man standing outside a pawnshop with a pair of
plump duffel bags.

Akin followed the man into the pawn shop and opened the bags, which
were full of CDs.

The man told Akin he was a rock music fan and was selling part of his
collection. They were all classical music CDs.

Akin found a tag on one of the bags with a telephone number of an
apartment in the West End.

He phoned the number and a police officer answered.The officer had
responded to a call from a resident who had reported a robbery a few
minutes earlier.

Some of the goods in the duffel bags came from the apartment.
Screwdriver marks on the front door matched a screwdriver in one of
the bags. Akin said it was clear the man had robbed the apartment and
scooted to the pawnshop to sell his loot.

But the thief was never convicted.

The court ruled that Akin had no grounds to conduct the search of the
duffel bags.