BC NDP Leader David Eby is pitching a boost in police resources as a part of his party’s public safety platform in the upcoming provincial election.
Eby made the comments in a speech to the Union of B.C. Municipalities conference in Vancouver, two days before the anticipated start of the official election campaign.
He said the additional resources would complement the party’s plan to expand involuntary care for people with serious, complex mental health and addiction problems.
Eby said that group of people numbered in the “hundreds” but who are “really struggling in visible ways that are putting extra pressure” on communities.
“So what you will see in our platform for the upcoming campaign is a commitment to you around additional resources for community policing for downtowns that are under this kind of stress,” Eby said.
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“By having a strong and visible law enforcement presence in your downtown cores, coupled with the social supports that we put in place, the intervention teams that put the emphasis on mental health, peer response, connections to addictions treatment and mental health services, we will be able to ensure our communities are safe.”
Eby said 250 more RCMP officers had already been added around the province in smaller communities that have been historically understaffed as complaints grow from business owners about vandalism and street disorder.
The comments come days after the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association launched a pressure campaign calling on parties to commit to boosting mental health, addiction and police funding to improve public safety.
Eby unveiled the pledge to expand involuntary care on Sunday, and on Thursday said several municipalities had already come forward to say they would support having a “secure site” in their community.
He said the first sites to offer secure care will be at the Surrey Pretrial Centre and the Monarch Houses at the Alouette Correctional Centre. Further buildings being identified will need renovations, he said.
He added that his government aimed to open sites in various regions around the province that would allow people receiving treatment to stay closer to their families and communities.
The BC Conservatives have criticized Eby for touting involuntary care after previously rejecting its expansion, while other critics have said the province should put more resources into voluntary care first.
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