VACPC and Community Policing

Learn about the history and background of Community Policing and what they have to offer to Vancouver residents.

>> Click here to find out some interesting facts and statistics about Community Policing.

VACPC Purpose, Mission, & Goals

The Vancouver Association of Community Policing Centres’ (VACPC) mandate is as follows:

• to achieve sustainable funding and resources to operate local community policing offices and their delivery of core crime-prevention and healthy-community programs
• to reach out to the general public and involve them in community policing
• to market the benefits of community policing to members of the Vancouver Police Department.

Community Policing Background

Internationally, community policing has proven to be a well-accepted and effective policing strategy. Thus, in 1994 community policing centres (CPCs) in the City of Vancouver were set up in 1994 for the following reasons:

• each community had different needs
• the Vancouver Police Department force had been declining because of budget cuts
• the community wanted to be—and, for survival, knew it had to be—involved.

CPCs are operated, run and maintained by individually registered societies with core funding from the City of Vancouver. Each CPC has an Operating Agreement with the City of Vancouver and with the Vancouver Police Department (VPD). The Operating Agreement assigns a Neighbourhood Policing Officer (NPO) to each office. Since 1994, with more budget cuts and a further loss of police officers, CPCs have become increasingly called upon. They now provide fast and local access to resources not available through the VPD.

On March 27, 2002, VACPC became a registered, non-profit society whose mandate is to raise funds and disburse them to the community policing centres. VACPC’s membership consists of all Vancouver community policing centres.  VACPC has elected officers on the Board of Directors.  These positions include:

Chair - Jason Jung - Collingwood CPC

Vice Chair - Beverley Acutt - South Vancouver CPC

Treasurer - Roger Thorimbert - Grandview Woodlands CPC

Secretary - Sophia Woo - Chinese CPC

If you wish to contact VACPC please email info@vacpc.ca

Community Policing District and Centres

District 1: Granville Downtown South CPC West End - Coal Harbour CPC	District 2: Chinese/Chinatown CPC Grandview-Woodland CPC Aboriginal CPC Hastings Sunrise CPC
District 3: Collingwood CPC South Vancouver CPC	District 4: Kerrisdale/Marpole/Oakridge CPC

Staff & Volunteers

To date, nine community policing offices operate in Vancouver. Each of the nine offices has paid coordinators, and along with over a thousand volunteers, they help keep the offices open a minimum of 30 hours a week for the community’s residents. Most offices are open 36-40 hours a week.

Community Policing Programs

CPC programs focus on crime prevention and healthy communities: crime prevention is essential for a healthy community. Current programs include the following:

As outreach into the community continues to increase, community policing centres take on new and different roles. Centres work with local agencies and services to fund and work on new projects, including the following:

• court watch
• growbusters
• crime prevention education

In addition to every community policing centre’s taking citizen reports, recording found/lost property, keeping daily visitor/phone logs, and alerting the resident Neighbourhood Police Officer to relevant issues, a snapshot of CPC issues across the city of Vancouver would include the following:

• neighbourhood dispute mediation
• problem premises
• drug and alcohol abuse
• sexual exploitation
• youth violence
• youth at risk
• mental illness
• referrals and resources
• and more