Former TD Bank at Woodward's becomes new VPD community policing centre | Daily Hive

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“We’ve heard clearly from people who live and work in the area: they want to feel safer. They want more support, more connection between neighbours, and a more visible presence for the community when issues arise. This new community policing centre is a direct response to that call,” said Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, who spearheaded the creation of the Gastown-Hastings Crossing Community Policing Centre (GHX CPC).

The provincial government provided $1 million toward the creation of this new community policing centre, which will provide crime prevention and outreach programs, including safety education, crime reporting, and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), as well as initiatives such as community clean-ups, graffiti paint overs, and neighbourhood safety walks and outreach.

“This CPC is a powerful example of what’s possible when we come together. It’s community-led, volunteer-driven, and built on the belief that everyone deserves to feel safe in the neighbourhood they call home. We’re proud to have pushed this initiative forward, and we’re excited to see the positive impact it will have,” continued Sim.

One of the glass-smashing incidents of the TD Bank at Woodward’s in 2022. (@thenetworkhub/Twitter)

This is now the fourth community policing centre within the downtown Vancouver peninsula, adding to the nearby policing hubs at Chinatown, the Granville Entertainment District, and Davie Village in the West End. To the east, there is also a community policing centre on East Hastings Street in Strathcona. Across Vancouver, there are 12 such hubs.

Earlier this year, Tony Hunt, the general manager of loss prevention for London Drugs, told Daily Hive Urbanized the retailer’s Woodward’s location has never made any money since it first opened 15 years ago. In fact, this particular store has lost over $10 million since opening from a combination of both customer traffic and extreme theft issues.

London Drugs’ losses at Woodward’s spiked during the peak of the pandemic, then slightly declined, but have since remained at relatively high levels. Another major issue since the pandemic is the increased safety issues for their staff — even with increased loss prevention workers and security staff. Hunt shared that select store locations have seen their security budgets tripled and quadrupled.

“The thing that really disturbs us is we’ve got real hardened criminals and opportunists taking drug addicted, mentally ill, and unhoused people — people who are most vulnerable in our community and encouraging them to go and commit crime,” said Hunt.

“They commit crime in ways and in places where their you know their difficulties and coping skills actually can create a situation where there can be violence. So we’re really quite concerned about that,” continued Hunt.

London Drugs at Woodward’s (Kenneth Chan)

There have been growing concerns that if London Drugs were to close, it could accelerate the area’s decline, pushing it further into a vicious cycle of instability and disinvestment. Nesters Market — the other anchor retailer at Woodward’s — is grappling with similar challenges.

Today, Mayor Sim reiterated the need for the provincial and federal governments to step up and provide the City with more resources, and to pivot their strategies and policies, including the need to significantly expand the number of involuntary care beds and improve the supportive housing operating model.

Currently, under City Council direction, the municipal government has enacted a temporary moratorium on any net new supportive housing units within Vancouver that receive support from the City. Instead, the City is focusing on replacing aging and unsafe SROs and temporary modular housing with new permanent, purpose-built housing.

“Cities like Vancouver can’t do this alone. We need senior levels of government to step up consistently, meaningfully, and with real resources so we can keep investing in the people, programs, and spaces that make our neighbourhoods safer,” said Sim.

“Without a substantial increase in new beds and stronger measures to keep offenders off the streets, we won’t see the long-term change our city needs. What we’ve seen to date hasn’t been enough, and until senior governments are ready to step up, Vancouver will continue doing everything a municipality can to help residents feel safe.”

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