COMMUNITY POLICING CENTRE
Volunteers Care For The Community

(click images to enlarge)

Did you know that next year will be 30 years since the West End-Coal Harbour Community Policing Centre (WECHCPC) was established to be our local resource for answering crime and safety concerns in the neighbourhood?

Citizen patrols bring an authoritative presence in the community, observing and reporting illegal activity, liaising with community members and businesses regarding crime and safety concerns, and performing wellness checks. (photos courtesy of WECHCPC)

They opened in July 1997 at 1122 Bute Street, in Mole Hill, as the Davie Street Community Policing Centre. It originally served the community from Burrard Street to Nicola Street and from Beach Avenue to Nelson Street. In 2005, as its area of responsibility grew, it was renamed the West End-Coal Harbour Community Policing Centre, and found a new home at 1267 Davie, next to what was then the Super‑Valu and is now Your Independent Grocer. This would be the home of WECHCPC for the next fifteen years.

In 2022 the WECHCPC celebrated its 25th anniversary with a move to its present location at the corner of Davie and Jervis (1267 Davie), under the big yellow awning.

The WECHCPC is a non-profit organization that works in partnership with the Vancouver Police Department, and what makes it special is that it is driven by volunteer power; people from the community who have a personal attachment to the area and want to make it a better place for themselves and for others. The CPC’s success depends on those volunteers, their skills, their knowledge, and their experiences. No one knows the community better than the people who live, work, and play here.

They currently have over 140 volunteers from the Metro Vancouver area. They range in age from 16 years old to 80+ and collectively speak more than 20 languages. Although there is a Neighbourhood Police Officer attached to the organization, the West End-Coal Harbour Community Policing Centre is not, it must be noted, a police station.

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.

The team are regular community members who provide crime prevention education and conduct personal safety awareness activities on behalf of the VPD, but they also deliver programs and services as requested by the community which address their specific needs. The CPC team helps over 4,000 people annually through the office, and assist hundreds more out in the community.

The Centre does not work in a silo. It works alongside other community, municipal, and provincial organizations, including the Robson Street and West End Business Improvement Associations, the West End Community Centre Association, the West End Seniors Network, Gordon Neighbourhood House, and Qmunity. It also supports collaborative activities for overall community betterment done by them. This includes safety presentations, community events, litter pick up and graffiti removal, traffic monitoring, and seasonal events as well.

The Centre’s work is overseen by executive director Neil Fernyhough and programs manager Shelley Coppieters, working with the neighbourhood policing team Constables Matt Ghattas and Jason Doucette.

As we said, the Centre’s success depends on the volunteers’ skills, knowledge, and experiences. To learn more about their projects and activities and join as a volunteer, visit their website here.