Vandal Watch program launched following highly successful pilot
Coquitlam, BC, October 11, 2002 "It is time to draw the line on vandalism and we have the tools to do it." That was the message communicated at a special assembly held at Miller Park Elementary School on October 11, 2002. After a year-long pilot of the Vandal Watch program, the founding partners of the Vandal Watch Society gathered at Miller Park Elementary to celebrate the phenomenal success of the field-test portion of this innovative, anti-vandalism program. Represented by Mayor Jon Kingsbury, Mayor Scott Young, Mayor Joe Trasolini and School Trustee Brian Robinson, the Founding Partners of the Vandal Watch Society also announced the official launch of the Vandal Watch Program throughout the Tri-Cities area.
Public facilities such as schools, recreation centers, and parks are targets for vandalism. In recent years, the costs attributed to vandalism in the Tri-Cities area has been estimated in excess of $500,000. In response to this escalating problem, the cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody in cooperation with School District #43 created Vandal Watch to help eliminate vandalism in the Tri-Cities area. Vandal Watch is a community-based program in which residents in the area around a school, park or community centre form a Vandal Watch Chapter and agree to report any suspicious activity. The Cities and School District #43 provide the Society information materials, Tip Line and security support.
The Vandal Watch pilot program was initiated at Miller Park Elementary School for a six-month period. The success achieved at Miller Park Elementary led to the further expansion of the pilot to include Cape Horn, Vanier and R.C. MacDonald elementary schools. The Vandal Watch program was extremely effective in reducing the amount of vandalism at the test sites. The amount of broken glass at the schools decreased about 80% to 92% compared to the damage in the year prior to the Vandal Watch pilot program. One school went from spending $5,600 to replace broken glass during a six-month period to only $470 in the six months following the introduction of Vandal Watch.
The effectiveness of the program stems from active community involvement. Citizens are encouraged to form Vandal Watch Chapters. Upon joining the program, participating residents are provided with a confidential Tip Line number and encouraged to use it anonymously to report vandalism problems. The key is for callers to report to the Tip Line when they sense that trouble is forming and before the vandalism has taken place. Vandal Watch Security Runners are then dispatched to the problem area immediately and often arrive before the damage occurs. Unlike local law enforcement officials who must juggle the competing demands of public safety at large, the Security Runner's first priority is to address potential vandalism problems. In difficult circumstances, Security Runners may call upon the local police detachment for assistance.
Officially formed in July 2002 as a non-profit society, Vandal Watch brings a number of different government bodies together to work cooperatively with the common purpose of moving beyond short-term attention to providing a coordinated, long-term solution that will effectively counteract the escalating problem of vandalism. The purposes of the Vandal Watch Society are to encourage the elimination of vandalism through public education programs and local neighbourhood solutions specific to vandalism in this area. The foundation of the program lies in community involvement and pre-emptive vandalism response services