MIKE Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, on Wednesday announced that through the provincial Guns and Gangs Violence Action Fund (GGVAF), the City of Vancouver has been provided $183,661 to continue to support the Vancouver Police Department’s (VPD) efforts in prevention, disruption, intervention and enforcement of local gang activity.
The funding is made available under the federal government’s Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence and builds off the work of the VPD, which has received more than $2.5 million in GGVAF funding over the past five years.
The VPD will use this funding to provide additional intelligence resources to assist with the identification, charging and successful prosecution of participants involved in the B.C. gang conflict and gang-related human trafficking.
“The Vancouver Police Department’s leadership in preventing and tackling gang activity is a result of strategic investments in intelligence resources and upgrades to key investigative infrastructure,” said Frank Chong, chair, Vancouver Police Board. “The Vancouver Police Board and VPD thank the Province for this new grant from the Guns and Gangs Violence Action Fund which strengthens the VPD’s ability to counter gang-related crime and violence and helps keep Vancouver safe.”
The City of New Westminster has been provided $596,141 in funding to continue to support the New Westminster Police Department’s Gang Suppression Unit (NWPD-GSU) efforts to supress gang and gun violence by employing effective strategies in the key areas of prevention, disruption, intervention and enforcement.
In previous years, through GGVAF, the unit has been able to enhance its efforts in dismantling organized crime by successfully developing and implementing its Gang Suppression Unit (GSU) in 2020. Since its inception, the unit identifies and targets high-risk offenders involved in gang conflicts with the aim of investigating, prosecuting and disrupting unlawful and violent activity. The GSU has resulted in the arrest of more than 466 individuals and the seizure of 43 weapons, more than 25 kilograms of illicit drugs and approximately $477,000 in Canadian currency.
“This funding is absolutely necessary for small, urban municipalities like ours who simply do not have the resources to fund initiating specialized teams like this,” said Tasha Henderson, chair, New Westminster Police Board. “We are grateful that the Province recognized this need and look forward to its ongoing support so we can continue this important work in our community.”
