B.C.’s anti-gang agency ineffective in tackling escalating drug war: report

B.C.’s anti-gang agency has failed to stem the gang war that has resulted in dozens of murders and public shootings over a two-year period, according to a report commissioned by the B.C. Public Safety Ministry.

The report, almost half of which was redacted before release, stemmed from a review requested by the ministry’s policing and security branch into CFSEU-B.C.’s response to a surge in gang violence in the period from December 2020 to March 2022.

The review team, made up of retired Vancouver Police superintendent Mike Porteous and criminologists Curt T. Griffiths and Yvon Dandurand, assessed whether CFSEU had the ability to meet its mandate and whether it had effective systems and protocols to reduce gang violence.

In response to the escalation in gang violence, CFSEU began something called Project Spectrum, details of which are blanked out in the report.