Downtown Eastside - DTES Issues

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by s211

I'm dying to know how the police were able to connect the dots and figure out it was these two particular guys.

They've probably done it before. Not exactly the smartest criminals.

[MIPS]

I'm reading the Vancouver Sun article about it and a few things are pointed out.

Source: https://vancouversun.com/news/crime/trag...cked-in-home-by-two-men-posing-as-police

An advocate for the tent city residents, Chrissy Brett, said the attack on Singh was “horrifying and unacceptable,” but she took issue with the way police went about serving the search warrant.

...

“I have difficulty swallowing VPD’s narrative that singers and drummers are scary, when they’re the ones with all the weapons.”

Yet in the paragraph above....

“People in the park just surrounded them (and) became super hostile,” Addison said. “They had police tape up and people in the park were encroaching on the police tape. … They had to use tactics that we use in riots, like forming lines of police officers to keep the crowd back.”

When police have to work in groups and risk getting jumped I'm sorry lady but your opinion is invalid.

Vancouver councillor Pete Fry, a longtime resident of Strathcona, says the arrest is a sad validation of the concerns that neighbours have been voicing about the tent city for the past eight months.

...

Fry said people who identify as camp leaders have told him that they tolerate criminal activity in the park — such as chop shop operations and stolen property rings.

It's a shame that for as much as VPD advocates for Catch and Release we aren't allowed to corral off and process everyone as they are ejected from the park. $100 says you'll bag at least a dozen people wanted on outstanding warrants.....then release 90% of them.

At least they aren't like the camp in Seattle throwing rocks at reporters and putting up barricades when the city gears up to kick them out.

[Alex Mackinnon]

Word in the neighbourhood is that one of the guys charged was named Sandy (the one who lived in the park), and he referred to himself as the Mayor of Oppenheimer when he was interviewed a while back.

I remember reading the article that he was interviewed in, but I can't seem to find it.

That would mean that this is presumably someone that was part of the camp leadership or that had at least lived with them for a long time.

[MIPS]

Bulletin went up the other day for campers to move to the other side of the park or get lost.

A notice posted along fencing at the park dated Feb. 10 gives campers until 10 a.m. next Wednesday, Feb. 17 to have their items, shelters, tents, and structures removed from the west side of the park. It says “No temporary shelters permitted” in that portion of Strathcona Park, which is greyed out on a map featured on the notice.

The order from the general manager of the Park Board says the move is being taken to allow the Park Board to “remediate and return this area to recreational use and programming for all park users.”

It’s not exactly clear why this is being done now but the move comes just more than a week after one of two murder suspects was arrested in the park.

The so-called park “leader” was arrested at the encampment in connection with a shocking home invasion and assault of a senior at her home near Queen Elizabeth Park on Jan. 31. The 78-year-old died of her injuries just days later.

-https://www.citynews1130.com/2021/02/12/vancouver-park-board-clear-half-strathcona-camp/

Worth noting as well that if Buddy was not what lit the fire, the stolen Uhaul they dragged out of the park earlier in the week might of been the last straw.

Vancouver police say they’ve recovered a stolen one-tonne truck from the homeless camp in Strathcona Park.

Investigators said the vehicle had been parked in the encampment since at least Feb. 3, and that it was first identified by police last week.

Police devised a plan to remove the vehicle, and attended with a tow truck around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday.

-https://globalnews.ca/news/7635493/strathcona-park-stolen-truck/

[Vin]

Lol. This thing is getting more retarded by the day.

Of course there are always sympathizers who claim that crimes committed in other parts of town have nothing to do with DTES.

Originally Posted by Alex Mackinnon

Word in the neighbourhood is that one of the guys charged was named Sandy (the one who lived in the park), and he referred to himself as the Mayor of Oppenheimer when he was interviewed a while back.

I remember reading the article that he was interviewed in, but I can't seem to find it.

That would mean that this is presumably someone that was part of the camp leadership or that had at least lived with them for a long time.

Lowlife scums indeed.

[logicbomb]

Originally Posted by Vin

Lol. This thing is getting more retarded by the day.

Of course there are always sympathizers who claim that crimes committed in other parts of town have nothing to do with DTES.

Lowlife scums indeed.

I used to consider myself moderately progressive when it came to economic inequality but the last few years have me fed up. A few bad breaks in life or mental health & addictions issues does not give anyone a free pass to steal, assault, murder or burn/destroy anything.

I hate all levels of government, the non profits that do nothing of value and the lowlife scum that opt to commit a life of violence and crime.

[SeymourDrake]

The Gong show continues.

[s211]

Originally Posted by logicbomb

I used to consider myself moderately progressive when it came to economic inequality but the last few years have me fed up. A few bad breaks in life or mental health & addictions issues does not give anyone a free pass to steal, assault, murder or burn/destroy anything.

I hate all levels of government, the non profits that do nothing of value and the lowlife scum that opt to commit a life of violence and crime.

Welcome to progressive paradise, formerly known as Hell.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by logicbomb

I used to consider myself moderately progressive when it came to economic inequality but the last few years have me fed up. A few bad breaks in life or mental health & addictions issues does not give anyone a free pass to steal, assault, murder or burn/destroy anything.

I hate all levels of government, the non profits that do nothing of value and the lowlife scum that opt to commit a life of violence and crime.

There is a whole industry out there taking tax payer's money to ensure the lawlessness and the issues at hand continue. These people spin everything to make actual perpetrators sound like victims in order to ensure that money keeps rolling in. Of course some of the organizations do something, but definitely not enough to get rid of the problems of the DTES, and I doubt there is any intention of doing so. I see this as no different than pharmaceutical companies continuing to lobby governments and brainwash citizens to accept their "cures", which are mostly suppressants or drugs that keep sick people at bay without instantly killing them off, but at the same time siphoning lots of financial resources to fund an entire industry to keep themselves as well as the shareholders happy. That, I have totally no respect for.

You are totally right that such a system only does harm to the people who are incapable of improving themselves, and spoiling them to such an extent that many would commit crimes to continue their habits. We as a society need to have a new mindset and change all this.

[logicbomb]

Originally Posted by Vin

There is a whole industry out there taking tax payer's money to ensure the lawlessness and the issues at hand continue. These people spin everything to make actual perpetrators sound like victims in order to ensure that money keeps rolling in. Of course some of the organizations do something, but definitely not enough to get rid of the problem of the DTES. I see this as no different than pharmaceutical companies continuing to lobby governments and brainwash citizens to accept their "cures", which are mostly suppressants or drugs that keep sick people at bay without instantly killing them off, but at the same time siphoning lots of financial resources to fund an entire industry to keep themselves as well as the shareholders happy. That, I have totally no respect for.

You are totally right that such a system only does harm to the people who are incapable of improving themselves, and spoiling them to such an extent that many would commit crimes to continue their habits. We as a society needs to have a new mindset and change all this.

Fully agree.

The only solution here is to fully round them up and triage them.

Mental health and addictions? Okay, time to go to a facility.
Commit a crime? Spend time in jail.

[Metro-One]

Seriously the problem just keeps getting worse and worse.

If it’s not local parks being over run with tent cities it’s Chinatown dying in filth and property crime (recent article from the China town community came out citing the homeless issue as a major cause damaging their businesses) or Granville Street deteriorating or continuous increases in bio waste being found in Yaletown etc...

What happened to positive ideas such as removing dumpsters from the alleys?

What happened to removing tenters at 7am like all sane areas do so all can enjoy parks while still providing sleeping space for the homeless? Now it even takes leg work to remove stolen vehicles parked in local parks!!!! Like seriously?

For all the talk of keeping the streets vibrant with activity the city and indeed the province seems to go out of its way to destroy that with their homeless and waste management plans.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by MIPS

Bulletin went up the other day for campers to move to the other side of the park or get lost.





Worth noting as well that if Buddy was not what lit the fire, the stolen Uhaul they dragged out of the park earlier in the week might of been the last straw.

Just look at that image, it sums up the issue perfectly.

I agree being homeless is not a crime, I actually agree with letting homeless people sleep in parks and even pitching a tent up overnight.

I don’t agree with these becoming permanent tent communities that openly declare they allow and harbor criminal activities and trades, strewn garbage and waste all over the place and act hostile to others in the local community.

I am sorry, being homeless does not equate to being above laws and regulations normal people must follow.

[s211]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

What happened to positive ideas such as removing dumpsters from the alleys?

So-called progressives got that one shot down, claiming it discriminates against binners. I wish I were kidding.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by s211

So-called progressives got that one shot down, claiming it discriminates against binners. I wish I were kidding.

It doesn't have anything to do with the DTES really, but your reply is wrong. The City introduced a bylaw to potentially remove dumpsters from lanes in 2007. To enact it, the waste haulers had to provide an alternate pickup service for the waste. Not one company agreed to provide that service, so the status quo continued. You can read all about it here, where you said "This is sounding more like garbage haulers that are averse to change."

The bylaw required dumpsters to be locked, so provided property owners don't forget to lock them, the opportunities to dumpster dive are much more limited. Any new buildings have their waste collection inside the building, but obviously there are many years of older buildings that don't have a space inside the building big enough to hold a dumpster.

[logicbomb]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Just look at that image, it sums up the issue perfectly.

I agree being homeless is not a crime, I actually agree with letting homeless people sleep in parks and even pitching a tent up overnight.

I don’t agree with these becoming permanent tent communities that openly declare they allow and harbor criminal activities and trades, strewn garbage and waste all over the place and act hostile to others in the local community.

I am sorry, being homeless does not equate to being above laws and regulations normal people must follow.

Worth noting the matter has only effected the long-time local homeless segment which has been pushed out into the outer periphery of the DTES due to the unhinged nature of the criminals coming in.

There were a few agencies that vocalized criticism towards the governments for not maintaining records of the homeless and some knew of a spike in individuals coming from other provinces. It has gotten to the point where we deferred this years count due to COVID concerns (even through they are getting vaccinated and we can do a count there).

Trudeau worries so much about being a good global citizen while completely disregarding a domestic matter that should be holding each province responsible for sending their garbage out here.

[MIPS]

Originally Posted by logicbomb

Trudeau worries so much about being a good global citizen while completely disregarding a domestic matter that should be holding each province responsible for sending their garbage out here.

What's he going to change?
If the last few years have taught me anything, it's that you can be the leader of a country (no country specifically) and enact and sign in bills, laws and enforcement (be them fully within reason or defying all logic) that are for the most part ignored or even overridden by lower courts and councils because they don't like it or the backlash it will bring them.
DTES issues at the highest are a provincial issue.

[logicbomb]

Originally Posted by MIPS

What's he going to change?
If the last few years have taught me anything, it's that you can be the leader of a country (no country specifically) and enact and sign in bills, laws and enforcement (be them fully within reason or defying all logic) that are for the most part ignored or even overridden by lower courts and councils because they don't like it or the backlash it will bring them.
DTES issues at the highest are a provincial issue.

Police reform? National investment into new prison facilities? Cutting funding to provinces that refuse to keep track of their homeless? The status quo is not working and only emptying out commerce in City's like Vancouver.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/bear-spray-needles...-downtown-vancouver-police-say-1.5312945

VANCOUVER -- Police say there was a dramatic increase in armed shoplifting incidents last year, particularly in Vancouver's downtown core.

The Vancouver Police Department said incidents of shoplifting involving a weapon were up 260 per cent in 2020, compared to the previous year.

These weapons ranged from needles and bear spray to knives and guns, according to the department.

This is stupid. "Armed shoplifting"...you mean robbery?

[rofina]

Some of us have been posting about this for a couple years.

The trend has been so painfully obvious to anyone willing to look.

Like always, the good at heart, came to the rescue. Completely ignoring reality.

Now we are at maximum damage, and still trending in that direction.

I wish I could even have schadenfreude and feel good about being right years ago, but no one is winning.
It doesn't feel good to be right, because its horrible for the City.

Tough love is the only way this gets resolved, it always has been.

Treatment and housing for those that are able to recover.
Permanent medically supervised incarceration for the small handful of the rest.
Prison for a handful of others.

We as a society are getting obsessed in bending over for the few at the cost of the many.

Its not reasonable to affect entire communities and Cities at the behest of a few people that scream about compassion and freedom. Its an unfortunate truth that people need to accept.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by logicbomb

Police reform? National investment into new prison facilities? Cutting funding to provinces that refuse to keep track of their homeless? The status quo is not working and only emptying out commerce in City's like Vancouver.

The police can arrest the whole of East Hastings; the feds can build as many cells as they want; neither matters so long as provincial judges keep releasing the apes on compassionate grounds and the Charter guarantees free movement. MIPS is correct.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by logicbomb

Police reform? National investment into new prison facilities? Cutting funding to provinces that refuse to keep track of their homeless? The status quo is not working and only emptying out commerce in City's like Vancouver.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/bear-spray-needles...-downtown-vancouver-police-say-1.5312945



This is stupid. "Armed shoplifting"...you mean robbery?

Armed Robbery is a felony charge isn't it?

Armed shoplifting is a slap on the wrist and a see you next time you did it bud as we can't do anything to stop ya.