Preventing violent crime in B.C. and on transit will take more than just police, criminologists say
Adding more police at hubs can bring crime down but does little to address root causes
As police patrols on public transit in Metro Vancouver are stepped up following a series of violent incidents, even as overall crime is on a downward trend, those who study the issue say it's a short-term solution at best.
Public transit safety has sparked a lot of discussion in B.C. over the last few weeks as a teenager was killed on the bus last Tuesday in Surrey, a man's throat was slashed on a bus in a separate incident, and a stabbing was reported at the SkyTrain station in nearby New Westminster.
It has led to calls from victims' families, the public and transit unions for a larger police presence on transit and politicians promising to increase patrols.
"The RCMP and Transit Police are stepping up their presence and patrols in the transit system," said Premier David Eby on Monday. "We've told them that if they need any additional resources. They should absolutely ask, and we'll make those available."
However, criminologists say that adding more police is, at best, a mixed solution to a problem that has deep roots in mental health issues and how people are criminalized.
They say solutions should involve more comprehensive support systems, especially around transit hubs which are likely to be accessed by vulnerable people.
Will more police at transit hubs deter crime?
Martin Andresen, a criminology professor at Simon Fraser University, said that the policy of "hot spots policing" — increasing patrols at places with reported violence — has been shown to reduce violence in the past.
"But as soon as those [patrols] go away, crime goes back up," he told CBC News.
Andresen says that in the context of what he calls a recruiting crisis for police in Metro Vancouver, it is unlikely that there would be enough sustained patrols to make a long-term effect on transit crime.
"There's also a huge criticism that ends up falling on hot spots policing — especially in the United States, and in Canada as well. It's incredibly racialized," he said.
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Kelly Sundberg, a professor in criminology at Mount Royal University in Calgary, says that people with mental health struggles and without adequate housing use transit as a place to stay.
"When we increase security presence on the transit system itself, it's going to push a group of people into the surrounding neighbourhoods," he said. "We're going to be displacing people as opposed to addressing people.
"We have to rethink how we deliver service, health-care services, social services to this population."
What do the stats say about violent crime?
Despite the recent uptick in reports of transit violence, statistics show that the number of crimes reported this year is comparable to last year's numbers.
According to numbers provided by the Metro Vancouver Transit Police, there were 167 instances of violent crime between Jan. 1 and April 12 last year, compared to 169 incidents in the same period this year.
In Surrey, which saw three stabbings in a matter of weeks, RCMP said violent crime is down 14 per cent compared to the same period last year, and it was down nine per cent in 2022 compared to the previous year.
Andresen says the fears of a "crime wave" are misplaced. However, he says that mental health calls are up, with research showing that the Surrey RCMP's apprehensions under the Mental Health Act went up by 9.7 per cent over five years.
"All of these people … are at a point of desperation that is pushing them into certain acts and acts of violence," he said.
What needs to be done?
Sundberg says that he is in favour of creating one-stop mental health spaces near transit hubs to focus care for vulnerable people.
The professor thinks that legislation brought by B.C.'s Transportation Ministry that allows the province to buy land near transit hubs for housing and community services is a good step. The province has said that this could include health services.
"I think that developing a network of municipal governments, with support from provincial and federal authorities, would probably be the way to go," he said.
"I actually propose establishing networks of experts and advisers across the country to help inform policies and strategies for addressing this growing concern."
Andresen says that research shows many of the root causes of crime can be solved by providing people with a basic income, assured housing and a safe supply of drugs if they need them.
"There are these underlying things that we need to get at," he said. "Otherwise, anything and everything that we're going to be doing is … just Band-Aid work."
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With files from Day 6 and CBC News Network