The New Westminster Police Department’s Gang Suppression Unit will continue to work at tackling crime – with some financial help from senior levels of government.
The B.C. government has received $10.9 million from Public Safety Canada for the 2024-25 fiscal year, part of the federal government's Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence.
On Sept. 11, the province announced the City of New Westminster had received $596,141 from the provincial Guns and Gangs Violence Action Fund (GGVAF) to continue its support of the NWPD’s Gang Suppression Unit.
“We are very pleased with the Guns and Gangs Action Funding that has provided continued support to our Gang Suppression Unit,” said Acting Chief Constable Paul Hyland in a statement to the Record. “I am very proud of the great work this unit is doing in suppressing gang and gun violence in our community, while also taking a proactive approach —particularly with youth — to reduce the allure of entering into a gang-related lifestyle.”
The NWPD’s Gang Suppression Unit works to suppress gang and gun violence by employing strategies in the areas of prevention, disruption, intervention and enforcement.
"This funding is absolutely necessary for small, urban municipalities like ours who simply do not have the resources to fund initiating specialized teams like this," Tasha Henderson, chair of the New Westminster police board, said in a news release. "We are grateful that the province recognized this need and look forward to its ongoing support so we can continue this important work in our community."
Jacqueline Dairon, manager of police financial services at the New Westminster Police Department, said the NWPD received the GSU grant funding in September 2024. In an email to the Record, she confirmed the funds have been included in the department’s 2024 budget.
According to the province, the funding supports efforts to keep people and communities safe through new initiatives that help to combat gangs, fight organized crime, and stop criminals from bringing violence and toxic drugs into New Westminster.
"Gang and organized crime impact all of us, and we are continuing to co-ordinate our efforts with local, provincial and federal partners to ensure we are taking the right steps to keep people and communities safe," said Mike Farnworth, B.C.’s minister of public safety and solicitor general. "I am very pleased we are continuing to support the excellent work of New Westminster, and I look forward to working with the city on important initiatives that enhance our response to the gang conflict in B.C."
$111,000 cash and suspected drugs with an estimated street value of $100,000 were seized as evidence by the New Westminster Police Department Gang Suppression Unit. https://t.co/ymMDdBiruL #NewWest pic.twitter.com/8bYPp1NoTM
— New Westminster Police Department (@NewWestPD) January 23, 2024
Tackling crime
The news release stated the funding is made available under the federal government's Initiative to Take Action Against Gun and Gang Violence and “builds on the excellent work” of the New Westminster Police Department’s Gang Suppression Unit, which has received more than $3 million in GGVAF funding over the past five years.
"As we continue to confront the challenges posed by gangs and organized crime, it's important that our local law enforcement has the tools and resources necessary to keep our communities safe," New Westminster MLA Jennifer Whiteside said in the news release. "The New Westminster Police Department's Gang Suppression Unit has made great strides in reducing gang violence, and this additional funding will help it build on that success, ensuring a safer future for everyone here in New West."
The Gang Suppression Unit, implemented in 2020, identifies and targets high-risk offenders involved in gang conflicts – with the aim of investigating, prosecuting and disrupting unlawful and violent activity.
“The GSU has resulted in the arrest of more than 466 individuals and the seizure of 43 weapons, more than 25 kilograms of illicit drugs and approximately $477,000 in Canadian currency,” said the news release.
In an email to the Record, the New Westminster Police Department said the Gang Suppression Unit, like many of its specialty units, collaborates with and supports other units and other municipalities – so it’s possible some of those 466-plus arrests occurred in neighbouring jurisdictions.
$596,141 from the provincial Guns and Gangs Violence Action Fund
Here are a couple of examples of some of the files that New Westminster’s Gang Suppression Unit has worked on:
- January 2024: Members of the Gang Suppression Unit observed a suspicious vehicle near the intersection of Eighth Avenue and 10th Street and initiated a traffic stop to speak to the driver, who was prohibited from driving and was arrested. The NWPD said a search of the vehicle resulted in $111,000 cash and vacuum-sealed packages of suspected fentanyl, cocaine, and crystal meth, with the suspected drugs having an estimated street value of $100,000.
- March 2023: New Westminster’s gang suppression unit supported other NWPD policing units and other police agencies in the seizure of luxury vehicles, cash, drugs (including cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl) and a loaded firearm while executing two search warrants. The seizure was part of a “complex drug trafficking investigation” that began in September 2022.
