April 15, 2025 - Minutes
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Community Safety Committee
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Date: |
Tuesday, April 15, 2025 |
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Place: |
Anderson Room |
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Present: |
Councillor Alexa Loo, Chair |
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Also Present: |
Councillor Carol Day Councillor Michael Wolfe |
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Call to Order: |
The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. |
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MINUTES |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the minutes of the meeting of the Community Safety Committee held on March 11, 2025, be adopted. |
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CARRIED |
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LAW AND COMMUNITY SAFETY DIVISION |
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1. |
Community Bylaws Monthly Activity Report – February 2025 (File Ref. No. 12-8375-02) (REDMS No. 7995148) |
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Councillor Heed entered the meeting (4:01 p.m.). |
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Discussion ensued regarding (i) Transit Police being the primary agency responsible for enforcement on transit buses, (ii) the City’s smoking regulations that apply to public places, (iii) the location density heat map that visually represents Bylaws calls-for-service related to homeless/unsheltered individuals, and (iv) stop work and/or removal orders related to soil deposit and removal. |
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In response to queries from Committee, staff advised that (i) while hotspot analysis presents a visual representation of occurrences, it is important to note that the maps are static and representative of a year’s worth of data, (ii) public transit buses are considered public spaces, (iii) the Joint-Operations Team coordinates inter-departmental and inter-agency operations/projects, and (iv) the City's snow removal prioritizes public safety by first plowing main roads and bus routes, followed by industrial and key subdivision roads. |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the staff report titled “Community Bylaws Monthly Activity Report – February 2025”, dated March 17, 2025, from the Director, Community Bylaws & Licencing, be received for information. |
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CARRIED |
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2. |
Extending Liquor Licenced Premises Operating Hours |
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Discussion ensued regarding (i) law enforcement service levels, (ii) the potential need for an amendment to the zoning bylaw and City policies, which currently limits liquor service hours to 2:00 a.m., and (iii) maximum fine amounts for Bylaw Violation Notices or Municipal Tickets. |
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In response to queries from Committee, staff advised that if Council moved forward with a late night liquor service pilot project and then chose to cancel it, it would then be the responsibility of the City to enforce the conditions of a 2:00 a.m. liquor service rule under new City Bylaws. |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the report titled “Extending Liquor Licenced Premises Operating Hours” dated March 19, 2025, from the Director, Community Bylaws & Licencing, be received for information. |
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CARRIED |
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3. |
Richmond Fire-Rescue Monthly Activity Report – February 2025 (File Ref. No. 09-5140-01) (REDMS No. 7988780) |
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In response to queries from Committee, Chief Wishlove advised that (i) BC Ambulance Service attends over 95% of the medical first responder incidents that Richmond Fire-Rescue (RFR) responds to and (ii) the overdose/poisoning incident volume breakdown includes opioid overdoes incidents that RFR attended in addition to all other overdose/poisoning incidents. |
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Discussion ensued regarding (i) the outstanding referral regarding compiling a comprehensive list of agencies that have access to information related to opioid overdoses and (ii) the relative density of overdose/poisoning incidents as noted on the location density heat maps. |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the staff report titled “Richmond Fire-Rescue Monthly Activity Report – February 2025”, dated March 11, 2025, from the Fire Chief, be received for information. |
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CARRIED |
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4. |
FIRE CHIEF BRIEFING |
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Items for discussion: |
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None. |
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5. |
RCMP Monthly Activity Report – February 2025 (File Ref. No. 09-5350-01) (REDMS No. 7964883) |
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Discussion ensued regarding (i) drug-related "social disorder" calls statistics, (ii) the OIC’s engagement with RCMP officers and attending to calls related to drop-in centres, (iii) the Communications Unit which provides public safety and crime prevention messaging to enhance community awareness of various policing-related issues, and (iv) crime trends across the four largest municipalities policed by the RCMP in the Lower Mainland. |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the report titled “RCMP Monthly Activity Report – February 2025”, dated March 17, 2025, from the Officer in Charge, be received for information. |
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CARRIED |
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6. |
2025-2026 Richmond RCMP Detachment Annual Performance Plan Community Priorities |
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Chief Supt. Chauhan highlighted that the priorities recommended for the Annual Performance Plan – property crime, organized crime, road safety, and vulnerable persons – take into consideration internal RCMP strategic directives and are in alignment with the strategic pillars identified in the 2021-2025 Richmond RCMP Detachment Strategic Plan. Chief Supt. Chauhan advised that the Annual Performance Plan will be made available on the City website. |
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Discussion ensued regarding (i) vulnerable persons and mental health-related calls for service, including police apprehensions and average hospital wait times and (ii) Richmond RCMP engaging partner agencies, including policing agencies from other jurisdictions, for joint operations and information sharing. |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the priorities, Property Crime, Organized Crime, Road Safety and Vulnerable Persons, listed in the report titled “2025-2026 Richmond RCMP Detachment Annual Performance Plan – Community Priorities”, dated March 11, 2025, from the Officer in Charge, Richmond RCMP, be endorsed for inclusion in the Richmond RCMP Detachment’s fiscal year 2025-2026 (April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026) Annual Performance Plan. |
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CARRIED |
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7. |
RCMP/OIC BRIEFING |
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(i) |
Road Naming for Cst. Jimmy Ng |
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Chief Supt. Chauhan shared that an unveiling ceremony for two new street names honouring Cst. Jimmy Ng, a Richmond RCMP officer who was killed in the line of duty, took place in the Richmond Centre development on April 10, 2025 and Cst. Jimmy Ng Road and Cst. Jimmy Ng Place are the two new streets named in his honour. |
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(ii) |
Richmond Night Market |
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Chief Supt. Chauhan advised that the Richmond Night Market is set to officially open for its 2025 season on Friday, April 25. |
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(iii) |
Richmond RCMP Youth Academy |
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Chief Supt. Chauhan noted that the 4th annual Richmond RCMP Youth Academy will be taking place in Richmond this coming summer. |
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8. |
MANAGER’S REPORT |
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None. |
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ADJOURNMENT |
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It was moved and seconded |
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That the meeting adjourn (4:54 p.m.). |
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CARRIED |
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Certified a true and correct copy of the Minutes of the meeting of the Community Safety Committee of the Council of the City of Richmond held on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. |
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_________________________________ |
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Councillor Alexa Loo |
Shannon Unrau |