VISITORS to the Granville Street Entertainment District (GED) pedestrian zone can expect to see more uniformed officers through the summer, say Vancouver Police. 

“During FIFA, the GED was a great draw for visitors to the city and a big boost to businesses. Now that the pedestrian zone initiative is being kept until Labour Day, our focus is on continuing to ensure it is a safe and inviting destination for everyone who wants to go there,” said Superintendent Phil Heard. 

The VPD is working within the available funding provided by the City to deploy additional uniformed officers along the pedestrian zone daily, nightly and on weekends. These officers are additional to the regular daily police deployment downtown. Enhanced police deployments in the GED will also include more police vehicles and traffic mitigation measures. 

“The Department has heard from residents and businesses in the area about how they want Granville Street to continue to look and feel vibrant through the summer, and the VPD shares their views,” Heard said. 

For safety and security reasons, the VPD does not disclose specifics about officer deployments in advance or during policing operations. 

After Labour Day, the VPD will provide a full costing breakdown and a summary of incidents in the GED to the media.