VPD whistleblower alleges arrest quotas in Downtown Eastside crackdown
VPD says it will look into the complaint and provide a report at the June police board meeting
British Columbia's police watchdog says the Vancouver Police Board must look into an officer's allegation that arrest quotas have been issued as part of Mayor Ken Sim's "Task Force Barrage" initiative in the Downtown Eastside.
Vancouver police Chief Adam Palmer denied the force uses quotas in a media scrum outside the police board meeting Thursday, but said they will look into the complaint.
The Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner says it received a complaint from a VPD member on March 8, calling Task Force Barrage a "politically motivated crackdown" and saying those in charge have been "setting quotas."
Much of the email from the whistleblower is redacted, but it says in part that they were taught that officers had discretion to decide whether to charge people.
"But now it's clear they don't value their officers' discretion and decision-making, and [they're] setting quotas. I don't think this is legal or right," the email says.
The police watchdog says that legally, the board must now initiate an investigation or a study, ask Chief Adam Palmer to launch an investigation, or dismiss the complaint with reasons.
At Thursday's meeting, Palmer confirmed a full report, based on the force's investigation, will be presented to the board at its June 19 meeting.
"We don't have quotas. Of course we have, you know performance expectations and performance measures and things that we look at, just like in anybody's business," he said. "We definitely track, you know, the performance of what they do. That's why we're able to tell you that crime is down."
Sim launched Task Force Barrage in February, promising a long-term operation "to dismantle organized crime networks and target predatory criminals in the Downtown Eastside and beyond."
A statement from police spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison says the police are "unapologetic" about the work they are doing in the Downtown Eastside and the "results of Task Force Barrage speak for themselves."
An update last month said weapons seizures increased 258 per cent in the Downtown Eastside in the first four weeks of the task force and that police seized 197 weapons and made 204 Criminal Code arrests, an average of about seven per day.
Addison added that since the start of the task force in February, police have made 314 warrant arrests up to April 15, and violent crimes are down 17 per cent in the first three months of 2025, compared with the same period last year.
"We understand these results, and the support we're receiving throughout the Downtown Eastside may be upsetting to police critics, defunders and people who are ideologically opposed to the work we do," he said.
Addison said police are "absolutely committed to staying the course."
Political blowback
Vancouver Coun. Sean Orr, who won a recent byelection, said in a statement that Sim must show integrity and "keep police out of politics, and politics out of policing."
"This officer showed integrity by reaching out to the OPCC with their concerns about the political misuse of Vancouver's police department," Orr said.
"Police officers should not be pawns for political campaigns, and whistleblowers like this should be protected against retaliation by their bosses."
A spokesperson for ABC Vancouver, Sim's party, declined comment when reached by CBC News, and redirected inquiries to the VPD.