VANCOUVER — Police say a man arrested after a "window-smashing spree" in Vancouver's West End on Wednesday is also a suspect in "dozens" of other recent mischief incidents in the city's downtown core.
Businesses and residents in the West End and other downtown neighbourhoods have complained of a surge in crime - particularly violent shoplifting and assaults on strangers - in recent months.
The Vancouver Police Department redeployed officers in September in response to these concerns, and framed Wednesday's arrest as a result of that move.
"Though we still have work to do, those efforts are now showing results," said VPD spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison in a news release.
According to police, officers were called to the West End Wednesday afternoon after a man threw a rock at a storefront on Davie Street, smashing a window.
The call came from a witness, who kept an eye on the suspect until officers could arrive and arrest him, police said.
"The officers were familiar with the man because he’s a suspect in dozens of other mischiefs in the downtown core," VPD said in its release. "In fact, he was arrested earlier that same day after allegedly breaking a window at a business near Robson and Bute Street."
The 50-year-old suspect was taken to jail, and police said they are investigating "all possible links to other unsolved mischiefs in the downtown core."
Broken windows account for 35 per cent of all mischief cases in the city's downtown core, according to Vancouver police. On average, VPD has received 11 reports of broken windows in the area each week since August.