West End – Coal Harbour Community Policing Centre

The purpose of our patrols is to deter crime and improve safety by:

• Being an observant and authoritative presence in the community.
• Observing and reporting suspicious or illegal activity
• Liaising with community members and businesses regarding crime and safety concerns
• Performing wellness checks

• In order to be a member of our citizen patrol team, volunteers undergo extensive training, supplemented by occasional topic-related workshops.
• In teams of 2-4, volunteers walk or cycle around the community to:
  • Observe, record, and report illegal dumping and vandalism; 
  • Search out and report stolen vehicles; 
  • Issue crime prevention notices to at-risk vehicles; 
  • Remove drug paraphernalia; 
  • Perform wellness checks on homeless and other vulnerable people;
  • Answer questions and engage with neighbours wanting to share information and concerns.
• In addition to foot and bike patrols, we also have pooch patrols – in which volunteers are joined by their dogs.
• Our patrollers are out in larger teams to support major civic events like the Celebration of Light, Pride, and the Lumière Festival.

Throughout the year, but especially during especially cold, hot, or rainy days, we send out Health Check Patrols to check on individuals struggling to cope with the extreme weather.

They distribute seasonally-appropriate Wellness Kits, containing a resource card, food, and weather-appropriate items (e.g., a misting bottle in summer; rain poncho in the winter, etc.).

Speed Watch is an educational program run by ICBC, in collaboration with police and community policing centres, to raise public awareness, collect data for law enforcement, and discourage speeding – especially in slow zones around schools and parks. 

Using radar equipment and a digital board, volunteers monitor traffic, documenting the rates of speed vehicles are travelling. As drivers pass through the Speed Watch set-up they also get the instant readout of their speed, displayed on the board, may compare their actual rate of speed to the posted limit. Volunteers pass information about problem speeding locations to the Neighbourhood Police Officer and VPD Traffic Unit.

Cell watches are visual audits of intersections, traffic circles, and crosswalks, to observe and record distracted drivers; reporting the numbers and kinds of distraction to ICBC to assist in its safety education. We also sometimes share the information with the City and VPD, to advocate for improved signage and/or enforcement.