Mayor Sullivan visits the Great Wall of China on his Trail Rider
Well what a show! Last week, the 2008 Summer Olympics came to a close with a spectacular closing ceremony. I’ve been fortunate to be here in Beijing, joined last week by Clr. Suzanne Anton and soon to be joined by Clr. B.C. Lee. Next week, the Paralympic Games will begin and I will be honoured to join nine other Canadians that have been selected to carry the torch through Beijing.
As the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games wind down, the eyes of the world are turning to Vancouver in the lead up to 2010.
While China has set the bar high, I know that Vancouver and our athletes will make Canadians proud during our finest hour. City Council is working hard to make sure everything is being done to make sure our city is prepared.
When the world arrives in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the first thing they will discover is the world is already here. Athletes, visitors and the global media will find an inclusive city that celebrates diversity as a strength.
The world will find a green city that is setting international standards for sustainable development and green building design. They will ride a new rapid transit line from the airport to two models of sustainability – the Olympic Village at Southeast False Creek and new downtown Convention Centre.
The world will find a compassionate city that is using the Olympics as a catalyst to resolve social issues over the long-term – not just for one month in 2010. They will find governments, residents, community organizations, businesses, residents and faith based groups collaborating to ensure all neighbourhoods and future generations benefit from this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
And the world will find a city committed to excellence and innovation. They will quickly discover the reason Vancouver is regularly ranked as one of the world’s best cities to work and live is because of the people who live here. While China dazzled with a stage show second to none, it will be our gold-medal citizens that will shine in 2010.
In the coming weeks and months, we will chart more progress in our city’s effort to host the world in 2010. We will:
- advance social investments with our provincial partners
- announce investments in Vancouver’s most historic neighbourhoods
- open a new Community Court in the Downtown Eastside
- introduce new plans to encourage private sector investment to help people with concurrent disorders
- advance the implementation of 311
- advance the recruitment of new police officers for VPD
- announce plans for 2010 related community celebrations & special events
- approve plans to secure the future of BC Place in our community for generations to come
We will also be encouraging the federal government to finalize a comprehensive security budget and play more of a role to address homelessness, mental illness and drug addiction on the Downtown Eastside in advance of 2010. This challenge is national in scope and urgent action from the federal government is required to support the work being done by City Council and our provincial partners.
VPD Annual Report: Vancouver Crime Rate continues to drop
The newly released Vancouver Police Department 2007 Annual Report shows a long-term trend of Vancouver’s crime rate dropping since its peak in the mid-1990s. Statistics show double-digit decreases in theft and break & enters between 2006-2007. While serious concerns still exist around property crime, gang violence and the effects of drug abuse and mental illness on our streets, there is much evidence to show that Vancouver is becoming a more safe and secure city.
2007 will be remembered as a landmark year for the Vancouver Police Board. In addition to publishing a comprehensive five-year Strategic Plan, we chose a new Chief Constable. Chief Jim Chu has done a wonderful job leading the force in his first year on the job. With his leadership, we are very excited about our ability to enhance public safety in the coming years.
The Vancouver Police Board’s five-year Strategic Plan provides an overview of how the Department intends to focus its energy and resources to make Vancouver Canada’s safest major city. It has already become an essential tool for the Board and it has been instrumental in our successes.
(MORE INFO: Vancouver getting safer, says police crime report, The Province)
Among other things, we are:
- securing historic commitments from City Council for new police officers,
- equipment and infrastructure
- using innovative strategies to restore public order in the Entertainment District
- on the way to double-digit decreases in property and violent crime compared to 2006
- increasing awareness regarding challenges associated with mental health
- implementing the “Con Air” program to return offenders to their home jurisdictions
- across Canada
- updating the mandate of community police centres
- working with federal and provincial agencies on issues related to security for the
- 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
While many challenges remain, we look forward to working through them together with our community partners and reporting more progress in the year ahead. It is my hope that this report will give you further insight into the work of the Vancouver Police Department.
Congratulations to Joe Moulins on Gemini nomination!
Joe Moulin’s, the filmmaker behind Citizen Sam, has been nominated for a Best Documentary Gemini Award.
Among the five contenders for best biography documentary are three B.C.-made features: the National Film Board’s Citizen Sam, about Sam Sullivan’s campaign to run for mayor of Vancouver; Paperny’s Confessions of an Innocent Man, which follows Canadian Bill Sampson’s ordeal in a Saudi prison after he was falsely accused of murder; and Long John Baldry: In the Shadow of the Blues, from producers Nick Orchard and Corby Coffin, which traces the life of the late British blues singer who made Vancouver his home.
Congratulations to Joe and all the other nominees! (source: The Province)
Yours truly,
Sam Sullivan
Mayor of Vancouver
