Vancouver

===Policing and crime===
[[File:Vancouver Police.jpg|thumb|Mounted officers of the [[Vancouver Police Department]] in [[Stanley Park]]]]
Vancouver operates the [[Vancouver Police Department]], with 1,327 sworn members and an operating budget of $316.5{{nbsp}}million in 2018.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://vancouver.ca/police/assets/pdf/annual-reports/vpd-annual-report-2018.pdf |title=2018 Annual Report |date=2018 |publisher=Vancouver Police Department |access-date=January 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723092802/https://vancouver.ca/police/assets/pdf/annual-reports/vpd-annual-report-2018.pdf |archive-date=July 23, 2019}}</ref><ref name="2018AnnualReport">{{cite report |url=https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/city-of-vancouver-2018-annual-financial-report.pdf |title=Annual Financial Report |date=2018 |publisher=City of Vancouver |access-date=January 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723011644/https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/city-of-vancouver-2018-annual-financial-report.pdf |archive-date=July 23, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Over 19 percent of the city's budget was spent on police protection in 2018 and by 2023 that has increased to 20.2 percent.<ref name="2018AnnualReport" /><ref>{{cite web |publisher=City of Vancouver |date=2023 |title=Vancouver Budget 2023: Amended 2023 Draft Budget and Five-Year Financial Plan |website=Vancouver.ca |access-date=March 26, 2023 |url=https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/2023-draft-budget-including-adjustments.pdf |archive-date=April 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409074806/https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/2023-draft-budget-including-adjustments.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Vancouver Police Department's operational divisions include a [[police bicycle|bicycle squad]], a [[water police|marine squad]], and a [[police dog|dog squad]]. It also has a [[mounted police|mounted squad]], used primarily to patrol Stanley Park and for crowd control.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mounted Squad: Patrol District One |publisher=Vancouver Police Department |url=http://vancouver.ca/police/operations/mounted/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050221232742/http://vancouver.ca/police/operations/mounted/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 21, 2005 |date=January 18, 2005 |access-date=January 31, 2010}}</ref> The police work in conjunction with civilian and volunteer-run Community Police Centres.<ref>{{cite web |title=Operations Division |publisher=City of Vancouver |url=http://www.vancouver.ca/police/operations/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060517020351/http://www.vancouver.ca/police/operations/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 17, 2006 |date=January 3, 2006 |access-date=January 31, 2010}}</ref> In 2006, the police department established its own [[Counterterrorism|counterterrorism unit]]. In 2005, a new transit police force, the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Police Service (now the [[Metro Vancouver Transit Police]]), was established with full police powers.

Before the legalization of marijuana, Vancouver police generally did not arrest people for possessing small amounts of [[cannabis (drug)|marijuana]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Cohen |first=Jackie |date=March 31, 2001 |title=Getting Dot-Bombed in Vancouver |url=https://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2001/03/42655 |url-status=live |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211112343/http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2001/03/42655 |archive-date=February 11, 2010 |access-date=January 31, 2010}}</ref> In 2000 the Vancouver Police Department established a specialized drug squad, "Growbusters", to carry out an aggressive campaign against the city's estimated 4,000 [[hydroponics|hydroponic]] marijuana growing operations (or grow-ops) in residential areas.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 26, 2000 |title=Growbusters |work=[[CBC News]] |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2000/07/26/bc_growbusters000725.html |access-date=January 17, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070527023833/http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2000/07/26/bc_growbusters000725.html |archive-date=May 27, 2007}}</ref> As with other law enforcement campaigns targeting marijuana this initiative has been sharply criticized.<ref>{{cite news |last=Burrows |first=Mathew |title=Who You Gonna Call? |work=The Republic |date=February 21, 2002 |url=http://www.republic-news.org/archive/32-repub/repub_32_grow.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080509030322/http://www.republic-news.org/archive/32-repub/repub_32_grow.html |archive-date=May 9, 2008 |access-date=January 31, 2010}}</ref>
[[File:Downtown Eastside, Vancouver during coronavirus pandemic (49791264711).jpg|thumb|For decades, the [[Downtown Eastside]] area of Vancouver has faced a complex set of social issues, including disproportionately high levels of [[Substance abuse|drug use]], [[homelessness]], [[poverty]], [[crime]], and [[mental illness]].]]
{{As of|2018}}, Vancouver had the ninth-highest [[crime in Canada|crime rate]], dropping five spots since 2005, among Canada's 35 census metropolitan areas.<ref name="STCD">{{cite web |title=Police-reported crime statistics |publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/85-002-x/2019001/article/00013-eng.pdf |date=July 22, 2019 |access-date=January 11, 2020 |archive-date=January 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111232644/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/85-002-x/2019001/article/00013-eng.pdf%3Fst%3D4kqbCVeM |url-status=live}}</ref> However, as with other Canadian cities, the overall crime rate has been falling "dramatically".<ref>{{cite web |date=April 21, 2009 |title=Police-reported Crime Severity Index |url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/090421/dq090421b-eng.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609204246/http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/090421/dq090421b-eng.htm |archive-date=June 9, 2011 |access-date=December 1, 2009 |publisher=[[Statistics Canada]]}}</ref> The rate of firearm related violence dropped from 45.3 per 100,000 in 2006, the highest of any major metropolitan region in Canada at that time, to 16.2 in 2017.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?k=19079&id=4b651ab1-e729-44a9-86d3-79a1ddc84689 |title=Gun crime in Metro Vancouver highest per capita in Canada |work=Canada.com |date=February 20, 2008 |access-date=April 26, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214043459/http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?k=19079&id=4b651ab1-e729-44a9-86d3-79a1ddc84689 |archive-date=February 14, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/89-28-0001/2018001/article/00004-eng.pdf |title=Firearm-related violent crime |date=2017 |website=StatsCan |access-date=January 11, 2020 |archive-date=January 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111232635/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/89-28-0001/2018001/article/00004-eng.pdf%3Fst%3Da49Gcif_ |url-status=live}}</ref> A series of gang-related incidents in early 2009 escalated into what police have dubbed a [[2009 Vancouver gang war|gang war]]. Vancouver plays host to special events such as the [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]] conference, the Clinton-Yeltsin Summit, or the [[Symphony of Fire]] fireworks show that require significant policing. The [[1994 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot|1994 Stanley Cup riot]] overwhelmed police and injured as many as 200 people.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9904E0D6163DF935A25755C0A962958260 |title=200 Injured In Vancouver |date=June 16, 1994 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=July 14, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316090306/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9904E0D6163DF935A25755C0A962958260 |archive-date=March 16, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> A [[2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot|second riot]] took place following the [[2011 Stanley Cup Finals]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Gallery-Shocking-scenes-from-the-Vancouver-Game?urn=nhl-wp7358 |title=Shocking scenes from the Vancouver Game 7 riots |date=June 16, 2011 |publisher=Yahoo! |access-date=June 16, 2011 |first=Greg |last=Wyshynski |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110618112638/http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Gallery-Shocking-scenes-from-the-Vancouver-Game?urn=nhl-wp7358 |archive-date=June 18, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

To reduce the public health risk from discarded hypodermic needles commonly found on downtown and the adjacent [[Downtown Eastside]] streets, the city runs a continuous collection effort, recovering approximately 1000 needles per day from public spaces.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bula |first=Frances |date=February 8, 2016 |title=Vancouver seeking new ways to tackle city's growing litter problem |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/vancouver-seeking-new-ways-to-tackle-citys-growing-litter-problem/article28661084/ |url-status=live |access-date=January 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922122729/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/vancouver-seeking-new-ways-to-tackle-citys-growing-litter-problem/article28661084/ |archive-date=September 22, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fayerman |first=Pamela |date=October 18, 2018 |title=Needles, needles everywhere. Ideas for ridding Vancouver of them? Not so many |work=[[Vancouver Sun]] |url=https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/needles-needles-everywhere-ideas-for-ridding-vancouver-of-them-not-so-many |url-status=live |access-date=January 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326150345/https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/needles-needles-everywhere-ideas-for-ridding-vancouver-of-them-not-so-many |archive-date=March 26, 2019}}</ref> According to [[Vancouver Coastal Health]], the regional health authority and a distributor of clean needles to intravenous drug users, there has never been a documented case of disease transmission from an accidental needlestick.<ref>{{cite web |title=Needle exchange & disposal |url=http://www.vch.ca/public-health/harm-reduction/needle-exchange |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017095743/http://www.vch.ca/public-health/harm-reduction/needle-exchange |archive-date=October 17, 2018 |access-date=January 25, 2019 |publisher=[[Vancouver Coastal Health]]}}</ref>