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.
An email from the anonymous whistleblower is on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting of the board, along with a corresponding letter from the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner asking the board to take action.
The complaints commissioner says it received a complaint from the 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.
Vancouver’s mayor and police Chief Adam Palmer jointly announced on Thursday a long-term operation to dismantle organized drug crime and target predatory criminals in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. As CBC’s Chad Pawson reports, it’s part of Ken Sim’s vision for the future of the DTES.
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.
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 does not directly answer whether quotas are being used, but 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.
