The front-page story of Friday's New York Times' sports section, was an article about Vancouver's poverty, drugs, and crime. In the article, writer Greg Bishop, describes the area between Hastings and Main street, located on the eastside of Vancouver, with residents smoking out of crack pipes and urinating in the streets.
Bishop said that the corner of Hastings and Main is only a mere five blocks from where the opening ceremonies will take place on February 12th and a five-minute drive from the Olympic Village. This area of the city is one of the poorest postal-codes in Canada.
Gang activity has been another recent concern raised in the news last week. However, Vancouver's Police Department said they have launched "Project Torrent," a recent effort program to combat the high gang activity in the city.
The security measures alone are costing
Vancouver $1 billion. British
Columbia has hired 15,000 security officers among them both police and military
personnel to ensure everyone's safety.
The Vancouver Organizing Committee has a $1.75 billion operating budget
and an additional $600 million for Olympic venue construction.
Back in January, the VDP announced that crime rates had fallen in 2009. Their report shows a decline in the rates of murders, assaults, robberies, and property crimes.