The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER , British Columbia — The Vancouver Police Department is paying the price to put gang members behind bars.
In a report to Vancouver city council, Chief Jim Chu says a deadly gang war that erupted across Metro Vancouver earlier this year is draining the department’s resources.
The report confirms almost half of the department’s criminal investigation fund - almost a million dollars - was spent in the first two months of 2009.
Chu says in the report that belt-tightening throughout the force means there’s not much chance of finding other cash to bolster the fund through the rest of the year.
He notes the Vancouver police pledge to suppress violent gang activity is in jeopardy without more support from the provincial government, other municipalities and integrated investigation teams.
But Deputy Chief Doug Lepard, who with Chu, presented their report to Vancouver city council on Tuesday, said he does not expect the force to spend money at the same rate for the rest of the year as its effort begins to pay off.
''We don’t expect to have to sustain this level of intensity forever, because we’re making progress,’' said Lepard.
''When we take the significant players out of circulation, which we are starting to now ... we expect to see a suppression effect.’'
Lepard also said the department’s staff couldn’t sustain that level of effort throughout the year.
The department has also had to deal with three kidnapping reports in the midst of its big anti-gang push.
''It could not have come at a worse time,’' he said.
The first kidnap report turned out to be unfounded, the second resulted in multiple extortion charges and the third was a real kidnap for ransom that police thwarted when they rescued the victim, a student from China.
''That cost us about $400,000,’' Lepard said.