Police surveillance trailer deployed to combat rise in downtown property crime

Minus the imposing column with remotely-controlled cameras, the Vancouver Police Department's surveillance unit parked at the corner of Robson and Richards looks more like a closed-up hotdog stand than a high-tech mobile security unit. The unit has been set up in response to the rash of increasingly violent shoplifting crimes in the downtown area.

There was a 268 per cent increase in violent shoplifting incidents in the downtown core last year, according to the VPD. On Feb. 12, the VPD wrapped up Project Arrow, a month-long initiative targeting a trend of violent shoplifters in the downtown core.

At a press conference for Project Arrow, Anthony Sullivan, the owner of the IGA at Robson and Richards, said his store had seen a 40 per cent increase in theft, and a dramatic increase in violent incidents since the onset of the pandemic, and an increase in weapons being used including knives, hammers, screwdrivers and batons.

One hundred and thirty offenders were arrested during Project Arrow, 268 charges were recommended and 35 weapons were seized.

VPD spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison said in an email on Sunday that the unit was deployed to act as a deterrent near the IGA, because the area has been very problematic. “The public safety trailers with the cameras are an important tool for crime prevention, but are only one tool and they are used sparingly.”

Addison said the equipment has been deployed in several locations throughout the city and serves as a deterrent to crime. Previous locations include Chinatown, near the former encampment at Oppenheimer Park, and in places where gang conflicts have occurred.