Vancouver's continuing drop in the rate of property crime does not mean Police Chief Jim Chu will reduce his ranks anytime soon.
Chu told the Vancouver Police Board Wednesday more officers are needed to achieve the department's goal of making Vancouver the safest city in Canada.
"There's still a long ways to go which is why the investment in policing is important," the chief told board members gathered at the Cambie Street police station.
Chu said Vancouver's property crime rate is higher than Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. But the good news, he said, is Vancouver is dropping faster than elsewhere in Canada.
The VPD has an authorized strength of 1,327 officers but has 57 vacancies because of budget pressures facing the department. City manager Penny Ballem met with the police board after the public meeting to discuss the VPD's budget.
Mayor Gregor Robertson promised during the fall election campaign to hire 35 new officers to create so-called "metro teams." If hired, the officers' focus will be to reduce response times to incidents across the city by being on the road during peak periods.
A report before the board showed the property crime rate has dropped consecutively for the past nine years. Property crime includes burglaries to residences and businesses, stolen vehicles, break-ins to vehicles, fraud and mischief.
The only property crime that has increased in Vancouver is arson, jumping 6.8 per cent since 2007. Police investigated a rash of fires in the Shaughnessy and South Granville area last summer. Several fires were also set during the Stanley Cup riot downtown June 15.
Chu pointed to crime prevention, the work of community police stations, special police projects targeting property crime and the department's focus on chronic offenders as reasons for the drop in property crime.
He said when chronic offenders are released from jail, detectives will meet with an individual to assist in getting treatment or housing. Chronic offenders are often addicted to drugs.
"So we're almost playing social worker there," Chu said.
The city has also seen drops in bank robberies, from 203 in 2004 to 83 in 2011. Shots fired dropped from 106 in 2004 to 18 in 2011 and gang-related homicides decreased from 13 in 2004 to five in 2011.
While overall violent crime has decreased, sexual offences are the only crimes against a person that have increased-4.5 per cent-from 2007 to 2011. Statistics show, however, the police have knocked down the increase in sexual offences in the past year.
Deputy Chief Doug LePard said enhanced training for patrol officers to target predatory men in the Granville Street entertainment district and public education campaigns aimed at men to "not be that guy" are factors in the decrease in sexual offences in 2011.
"It really is a combination of investigations, enforcement, targeting and education and we're seeing the results," LePard told the board. "It seems to be working."
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