VANCOUVER Police said on Friday they will activate additional safety cameras along East Hastings Street following numerous violent incidents targeting the community and police in the Downtown Eastside.
“We continue to drive down crime and drive out predators through proactive, assertive, and targeted enforcement against violent criminals and prolific offenders who operate in the Downtown Eastside,” says Deputy Chief Howard Chow, Operations Division.
“Despite significant progress, there’s still ongoing and imminent risk to residents and police officers. Now is not the time to let up.”
Eight elevated safety cameras have been installed in the Downtown Eastside – four at Main and Hastings, and four at Carrall and Hastings. They will replace two existing public safety trailers that were deployed in April, after a VPD officer was attacked with a knife, two others had their uniforms set on fire, and a 92-year-old man was assaulted and died in a lane behind the Carnegie Centre.
Representing just three per cent of the city’s population and two per cent of its geographical area, the Downtown Eastside accounts for 30 per cent of all violent crime in Vancouver.
Although violent crime has decreased since VPD launched Task Force Barrage in February, the areas around Main and Hastings and Carrall and Hastings continue to have the highest crime rates in the entire city. So far in 2025, there have been 225 violent crimes, including 14 robberies, 115 assaults, and one homicide within a one-block radius of where the cameras are deployed.
“Residents, business owners, and community advocates tell us they’re still concerned about the level of violence in the Downtown Eastside, where gangs and violent criminals are endangering the community,” says Chow. “We’ve spoken to more than a dozen organizations, residents, and advocates about this initiative, and we’re confident it has widespread community support.”
Like the cameras on VPD’s mobile safety trailers, the additional safety cameras are intended to deter violence and capture video evidence for criminal investigations. They will record public spaces only, and will not record audio or be used with facial recognition, artificial intelligence, or for traffic enforcement.
Only authorized VPD employees will have access to recordings, which will be overwritten after four days unless required for criminal investigations.
More information available at vpd.ca.
